Dorcester - Site I Henge (Destroyed) View all content for Dorcester - Site I (1 post)

Details of site on Pastscape A Neolithic ring ditch and pit circle excavated in 1946 in advance of gravel extraction. The site is part of the monument complex focused around the Dorchester cursus (SU 59 NE 5). An inner setting of oval pits formed a circle circa 12 metres in diameter. Some of the pits had cremations placed within their fills. Outside and concentric with this pit circle was a complete ring ditch of circa 34 metres external diameter. A bank probably existed between the two. The outer ditch was subsequently enlarged via the digging of a series of irregular pits around its circumference. The interior of the site included a crouched inhumation and some irregular depressions. Finds included Abingdon Ware sherds, some Beaker and Peterborough Ware sherds, a Grooved Ware sherd, and a transverse arrowhead. Two of the crematiosn were accompanied by bone pins. The monument was surrounded by a square ditched enclosure whose date is uncertain, though Neolithic sherds were found within its fill. Site shown in (1) as a circle in a square, excavation 1946 by Mrs. C.M. Piggott when threatened by gravel-digging. A henge monument consisting of a horse-shoe of postholes enclosed by a circular ditch with a square ditch surrounding all. Pottery in primary associations included Abingdon (Neo. A) & Grooved Wares. Peterborough (Neo B) indicated secondary occupation of circular ditch: four secondary cremations suggest re-dedication. (1) Full report to be published by Ashmolean Museum "during 1948". (2) The 6". Grid Ref. of the site is SU 5687 9567. (3) "Site I". "The site proved to be a composite monument with two stages in its history. In stage one, a second monument of the henge type was built. It consisted of a penanular ring of 13 holes or pits, surrounded by an irregular oval or sub-circular ditch, with an internal bank filling the space between it & the holes. There was an entrance-gap in the ring of holes on the W. side. The oval ditch was in turn enclosed within a square ditch, set with its diagonals coinciding with the long, & short axes of the oval. Neither ditch was broken by an entrance. Within the entrance of the ring of holes was a crouched burial, apparently unaccompanied; four cremations, two accompanied by fragmentary bone pins, lay in or beside four of the central holes. This stage of the monument appears to be of one design & to have been built by people using pottery predominantly of the Abingdon (Western Neo) type. (One sherd of grooved ware also found). In stage II, people using Peterborough Neo. pottery enlarged parts of the oval ditch to make temporary shelters; although they respected the central area there is no evidence that they used it as a ceremonial structure. It is possible, however, that the four cremations belong to this stage". (4) Dorchester 1. Listed by Kinnes as a Neolithic ring ditch and pit circle. (5) Listed by Harding and Lee as a segmented ditch circle with pit ring. (6) Cropmark remains of a square enclosure with an inner circle of interrupted ditches seen at SU 5686 9569. The outer enclosure is defined by a single ditch and measures 28m x 28m, the inner enclosure is sub circular and has a diameter of 20m. This enclosure has been identifed as a hengiform monument (class 1). The site was mapped at 1:10,000 scale for the RCHME: Thames valley NMP (Morph No.TG.371.29.1). (7) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCE TEXT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) Oxfordshire Architectural and Historical Society Oxoniensia XI-XII Page(s)162 (2) Oxfordshire Architectural and Historical Society Oxoniensia XI-XII Page(s)164 (3) Field Investigators Comments F1 DT 01-AUG-51 (4) by R J C Atkinson, C M Piggott and N K Sandars 1951 Excavations at Dorchester, Oxon: first report. Sites I, II, IV, V and VI, with a chapter on henge monuments (5) by Ian Kinnes 1979 Round barrows and ring-ditches in the British Neolithic British Museum occasional papers no.7 Page(s)19 (6) by A F Harding ; with G E Lee 1987 Henge monuments and related sites of Great Britain : air photographic evidence and catalogue BAR British series1 (1974) - Site 149 175 Page(s)242-243 (7) RCHME/EH Aerial Photographers Comment Fiona Small/01-Apr-1993/RCHME: Thames Valley NMP

Posted by Chance 5th February 2012ce

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