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This is the site of a now destroyed round barrow, it is believed to been in existence prior to its removal by quarrying in the late 19th century. The site is now a nature reserve.
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I have finally got round to visiting this site on foot. I have deleted my previous photos and comment as they weren't much cop anyway.
As can be seen there isn't much to see, the actual excavation being under the shelter of the small, low wooden building. Having said that this is a very important site, nationally as well as locally. Apart from the recently excavated Doghouse hill, this is one of the oldest settlement sites in Dorset.
Several hundred feet west of the site can be seen the well after which the site takes its name. The well is edged with high quality local stone and is held to have been in use since time out of mind. A narrow gully takes its outflow to the cliff where it flows in to the sea as a waterfall.
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This is a promontory hillfort in the village of Milborne Wick in south Somerset. It sits on the south western end of Barrow Hill. The village surrounds the fort on three sides. In places the rampart stands up to 6 metres in height. It encloses an area of just over 19 acres.
Magic states that the main ramparts cross the hill at its northern neck and run down the eastern side. The western side and southern end are mostly natural hillslope, with some additional height added artificially. While no excavation has provided dating evidence, the form, shape and placing of this site are consisitent with an Iron Age date.
This not the most accesible hillfort around as it is bounded by housing and private farm land, there does not appear to be a footpath on or near it. Also it is not easy to photograph through various trees and bushes, I must see if there is a nearby hill from which it can be viewed with a long lens.
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This group of three bowl barrows lay on a north facing hillslope to the south of the village of Winterbourne St Martin or Martinstown. The barrows are close to the buildings which are a dairy. The other barrows in the photo are further away on Ridge hill.
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This is a very prominent hill, almost iconic in this part of Dorset. It can be seen from many places and the addition of the trees, during the first world war, makes it all the more visible.
Although the modern name is 19th century, after the reverend John Colmer the land owner. The original name was Sigismund's Berg, which gives the name to the adjacent village of Symondsbury.
Cope thinks it the centre piece of a sacred river valley, the rivers Brit, Simene and Asker converge nearby.
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This is an area of upland heath about a half mile from the Dorset coast, it is a single bowl barrow on a small hill. It overlooks Colmer's hill to the north and lines up with the Thorncombe Beacon barrows to the south. From it can be seen Golden Cap and the barrow cemetery on Hardown Hill to the north west.
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Whilst there is not much to see on the hill itself apart from a linear feature near the cliff edge, never the less it is at a point on the coast which is between other sites. Adjacent to it are the barrows on Thorncombe beacon, to the east and the settlement and barrows on Golden Cap to the west.
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Four barrows on a hilltop on the west Dorset coast. They are in a row from north to south and appear to point towards Colmer's hill. A fifth barrow is also in line with them on Eype Down about half a mile to the north.
The first of the barrows is the mound on which the beacon itself sits. The second is the largest at about 12 feet in height and 30 odd yards in diameter. The next two are less distinct, possibly plough damage has lowered the height and they are now less easy to see as barrows.
This is a very prominent point on the coast from which you can see a long stretch of the Dorset and Devon coasts. It also has the advantage of far views inland. Very close by are other ancient sites such as Golden Cap, Colmer's Hill and the recently excavated Doghouse Hill - probably the oldest site of human habitation in Dorset.
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This is an extensive set of square celtic fields on a south facing hill, south of the village of Sydling St Nicholas. These fields have never been ploughed and are a rare survival locally. They are only about a mile west of the large enclosure on Grimstone down. There were also settlements at nearby Shearplace hill and Smacam Down.
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This is one of a number of barrows on the East Holme Firing range. The range is on heathland between the river Frome and the coast, to the north of the Purbeck hills. The only way to see the barrow is from the hills above with binoculars or a long camera lens.
The nearby Povington barrow was not visible, at only a metre in height it is probably obscured by vegetation at this time of year.
It appears to be in good condition when viewed through binoculars, MAGIC says it is 2 metres in height and 27 in diameter.
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There is very little information I can find about this small oval hillfort just to the north of the West Dorset village of Cattistock. The only written reference I can find is in a small book by Phil Wilton called the "Castles of Dorset".
He says some people think it to be natural, but he thinks it to be clearly manmade. Having visited I am pretty sure he is right, also M.A.G.I.C and the OS describe it as a hillfort.
There appears to be a round barrow in the interior, which unfortunately I couldn't see from the valley below.
There is no direct access to this site, as the only footpath is much lower down the hill, from it the hillfort is invisible. The hillfort appears to be on private land.
If anybody else knows any more about it I would be glad to know.
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This is an extended barrow cemetery of 11 barrows of various types which runs up a shallow valley to the north of Bere Regis. The single barrow in the photo is one of a group of three in the western side of the cemetery.
The group of three are on the east side of the valley, just north of Millum Head.
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This is a group of 8 barrows south of the Bincombe and Came group. One of the barrows is a rare oval type having a length of 40 metres and width of 20 metres. This is one of less than 50 recorded examples.
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These barrows are just west of Setta barrow and the Five barrows group. They run south to north on the top of a west facing ridge.
Apparently there are four in the group, but I could only see three. The southern one has a group of low stones in its centre. Not sure wether these are the remains of a burial chamber or cist. The central barrow appears relatively undamaged and is a medium sized bowl type. The north on is low and appears to have been damaged at some stage.
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I went to this group prior to visiting Setta barrow which is a few hundred yards north east. They are a varied group in terms of size and are spread east to west across the ridge of a high hill. Some show signs of having been excavated, particularly the central one with the trig point on it.
The setting for these barrows is quite spectacular, with views across many miles of Exmoor. There are at least 6 other barrows within a short distance and an iron age hillfort a couple of miles to the north east.
One of the barrows in the group is a bell type barrow and is a real rarity , wessex fancy barrows aren't usually found this far west.
I counted 8 in this group, all of which are pictured here. Having read Rhiannon's previous info I did not attempt to look for the stone row.
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A small group of four bowl barrows just to the north of the village of Chaldon Herring. These are in a valley to the south of a ridge which has the Five Marys group on it and from which these photos were taken. I could only see three of them from the hill above them, the one I couldn,t see is only slight and may be swamped by long grass. The Five Marys are the best place to see these slight barrows from.
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I decided my my 8 year old nephew and 6 year old neice should see Stonehenge, as they hadn't even heard of it. They were very impressed with the stones, but were more interested in the barrows because of the possibility of bodies being buried in them!
This is an extended group, the main set comprising 1 bowl and 3 bell barrows, a single bell and a twin bell, formed as 2 pairs. The bell barrows are particularly well formed types of they're class. There are another 3 bowls and 1 bell outlying to the west.
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A small, low bowl barrow in Powerstock Common nature reserve. The common is about a mile and a half north of Eggardon hillifort. Also in view are the barrows north of the hillfort.
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This is part of an extended cemetery which stretches from west to east from Waterston Ridge to this site. From here Waterston is two miles away on a bridleway. This barrow is just below the ridge on its north side. The most prominent barrow is on the crest and is visible from Poundbury several miles to the south. I didn't have time to get to it, as the heavens opened and it poured with rain.
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This single bowl barrow is about 2 miles west of Pallington Clump on a military training area. The monument has a diameter of about 20 metres and is 1.2 metres in height. Magic says it has a ditch on the east and south sides, this is inside the danger area and wasn't visible from the road. On the summit is a star shaped marker and it has been protected from military damage by large logs around the base.
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Always been interested in old stuff and making sure it stays in good nick.
I grew up within a hundred yards or so of Pounbury hillfort and within a mile of Maiden castle and have long wondered about the peoples who built these and the many other sites which proliferate in Dorset. My special interest is in the many barrows of all kinds in the area.
Have recently moved near to Weymouth and am lucky enough to be able to see barrows, a cross ridge dyke and an ancient trackway from my back garden.
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