Martin Down Enclosure
The Martin Down Enclosure is an archaeological site on Martin Down, near the village of Martin, in the south-east of Wiltshire, on a hill running up to the border with Dorset to the south.
The site is a scheduled monument,[1] and it is one of several archaeological features on Martin Down, such as Bokerley Dyke.[2]
The enclosure is the original example of a type of prehistoric feature, the "Martin Down style enclosure": they are small enclosures of the Bronze Age, area often less than three-quarters of an acre, considered to be domestic settlements. They have mostly been found on downland of central southern England, usually situated on hillsides.[3] Other examples are on Harrow Hill and Thundersbarrow Hill, both in Sussex, South Lodge in Wiltshire, and on Shearplace Hill in Dorset.
Description
There was excavation by Augustus Pitt Rivers from November 1895 to March 1896.[4] He excavated all of the bank and ditch, and about half of the interior; the present earthwork is his reconstruction. It was concluded that the site is middle Bronze Age, with later Romano-British occupation. Finds from the excavation included worked flint, animal bone and pottery of the Bronze Age and Romano-British period.[1]
The rectangular enclosure has internal dimensions of about 100 yards south-west to north-east by 70 yards. It has a single bank of width up to 30 feet and up to 2 feet above the interior, and there is an external ditch. There is a gap (established as original during the excavation) at the eastern end of the north side, width about 130 feet, and there are entrances on the east and south sides.[1]
Excavations by Pitt Rivers
Other sites on Cranborne Chase excavated by Pitt Rivers include the Rotherley Down Settlement, South Lodge Camp, Woodcutts Settlement and Wor Barrow.
Location
- Location map: 50°58’47"N, 1°56’24"W
- Streetmap: SU043200
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 National Heritage List 1010870: Bronze Age and Romano-British enclosure on Martin Down, east of Bokerley Junction (Scheduled ancient monument entry)
- ↑ National Heritage List 1012135: Bokerley Dyke, and a section of Grim's Ditch, a section of a medieval boundary bank, and two bowl barrows on and north west of Martin Down (Scheduled ancient monument entry)
- ↑ National Heritage List 1015124: Martin Down style enclosure, bowl barrow, Iron Age hillfort, Romano-British village and associated field system on Thundersbarrow Hill (Scheduled ancient monument entry)
- ↑ Martin Down Camp: Heritage Gateway
