23674 This site is recorded in an early fourteenth century terrier which refers to 'unum sanctum locum extra fossatum maris que [sic] vocatur le mothow'. The name probably derives from the Old English '(ge)mot' and Old Norse 'haugr' which means 'assembly mound' although given the documented use of the site at a remarkably late date and the absence of earlier forms it must be uncertain whether its origins go back to the Anglo-Saxon period. Neilson states 'Outside the fossatum maris lay stretches of sand and silt along the Flete gate or Haven, partly within reach of the tide, used by the men of the vill for their salt pits or pans (saline) ... The central point le Mothow, called also the 'holy place', where bushels of salt from the salt pits of the three vills of Fleet, Holbeach and Gedney were bought to be marked, and where a court was held by the lord of Fleet and rent and fines collected'. It is extremely unusual to find evidence of a local court meeting at an open-air location associated with an upstanding monument at such a late date and the statement that the site was considered a holy place is also extraordinary. The exact location of the mound is unknown although Neilson states it was near Hirnflete. {1}