Monument record MDO1270 - Bank barrow in the Black Down Group, Kingston Russell

Neolithic bank barrow on the western side of Black Down, one of a pair of similar monuments. In 1952 this monument was described as a mound 104 yards long with a shallow ditch on each side. Aligned northwest-southeast, the mound was then 6 feet high at the southeastern end, but decreased in height towards the northwest. A corresponding decrease in width was noted, from 45 feet to 34 feet. The mound has been cut through in a number of places by recent tracks. Ordnance Survey field investigation in 1955 noted that the mound was situated on and cut out of a northeast-facing slope. The ditch was barely noticable on the northeastern side, but on the southwest it measured up to 5 metres across and 0.3 metres deep for at least part of the barrow's length. The side ditches do not continue round the ends of the mound.

[SY 58079051] "Long barrow 190 paces. Lat 50o 42' 43" Long 02o 35' 38". Congl[omerate?] lying on tums". <1>

A long barrow, orientated ESE-WNW. Length 300 ft; width 40 ft; height 6 ft. <3>

A bank-barrow: other information similar to <3>. <4>

A bank barrow, situated on and cut out of a NE facing slope.The barrow has recently been under the plough but is now grass covered. A poorly defined, unsurveyable ditch is visible on the NE side, but on the SW side a ditch is 5.0m wide and 0.3m deep, for approx. 500m from the SE end of the barrow. The ditches do not go round the ends of the barrow. The mound is broken through in two places, each break probably a modern one. Length of barrow 90.0m, max. width 12.0m. <5>

A Neolithic long barrow or bank barrow located on the western side of Black Down, one of a pair of similar monuments (see SY 59 SE 33). Listed by Grinsell as Kingston Russell I and by RCHME as Kingston Russel 6 (d), in 1952 RCHME described it as a mound104 yards long with a shallow ditch on each side. Aligned northwest-southeast, the mound was then 6 feet high at the southeastern end, but decreased in height towards the northwest. A corresponding decrease in width was noted, from 45 feet to 34 feet. The mound has been cut through in a number of places by recent tracks. Ordnance Survey field investigation in 1955 noted that the mound was situated on and cut out of a northeast-facing slope. The ditch was barely noticable on the northeastern side, but on the southwest it measured up to 5 metres across and 0.3 metres deep for at least part of the barrow's length. The side ditches do not continue round the ends of the mound. <3> <5> <6>

Site of a Neolithic bank barrow at Black Down. The site is 100m long, orientated WNW by ESE and has been truncated at its western end by later trackways. It is one of two bank barrows in the vicinity (see also MDO1275). <9>

Two long barrows lie on Black Down (SY 59 SE 32 and 33). The northern one, SY 59 SE 32, is centred at SY 5807 9051. It is oriented NNW/SSE. The monument comprises a flat topped, long, rectangular mound with the remains of a ditch on the southern side. The mound is 98m long, 1.5m high. It flares out in width from 12m at the northern end to 20m wide at the southern end. The ditch is 60m long, 5m wide and 0.4m deep. Two tracks have cut through the mound at SY 5803 9053 and SY 5805 9052. The remains of a field boundary, extant in the 1970s, survive as a bank which runs along the top of the mound. <10>

The site was surveyed using differential GPS and EDM at a scale of 1: 1000 as part of a survey of the long barrows on the South Dorset Ridgeway carried out by English Heritage and the Ridgeway Survey Group. <11>

<1> Crawford, O G S, Annotated record map 6 inch (Map). SWX7265.

<2> Crawford, O G S, 1938, Bank Barrows; Anqituity, Volume 12 , Issue 46, 228-232 (Article in serial). SDO18029.

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 128 (Monograph). SDO97.

‘(6) GROUP OF BARROWS between the 500 and 600 ft. contours on or near the top of a ridge to the W. of Black Down and ¾ m. N.E. of Kingston Russell House. … (d) bank barrow, 150 yards S.W. of (c), is about 104 yards long (127½°) with a shallow ditch on each side. Near the E. end the barrow is 6 ft. high but it decreases in height towards the W. and there is a corresponding decrease in width from 45 ft. to 34 ft. The barrow has been much mutilated by gaps for tracks etc.’

<3.1> Historic England, Historic England Archive, RCHME: Barrow No 6i, Kingston Russell, Dorset (Index). SDO14738.

Original drawing

<4> Grinsell, L V, 1935-54, Dorset Barrows 1935-54 Manuscript (Unpublished document). SWX1556.

<5> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F2 NVQ 02-MAY-55 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<6> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 80 (Monograph). SDO132.

<7> Papworth, M, 1983, The South Dorset Ridgeway Project: condition and management survey, SDR 25 (Index). SDO12304.

<8> Wessex Archaeology, 2011, South Dorset Ridgeway Barrow Survey 2010 (Unpublished document). SDO12407.

<9> Royal Air Force, 17-JAN-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1934 5099-100 (Aerial Photograph). SDO11149.

<10> Riley, H, Field Investigators Comments: Hazel Riley, 2006 (Unpublished document). SDO17469.

<11> Riley, H, 2008, Long Barrows on the South Dorset Ridgeway. A Survey by English Heritage and the Ridgeway Survey Group (Unpublished document). SDO15192.

<11.1> Historic England, Historic England Archive, AF00268 (Index). SDO14738.

A survey of the Neolithic long barrows on the South Dorset Ridgeway was carried out in 2006 and 2007 by EH survey staff from the Exeter office and the Ridgeway Survey Group, a team of local volunteers. The Survey Group assisted with the survey and record of the long barrows and undertook original research. The work of the group formed the basis of the final report, and is archived with the project.Note: the catalogue record is linked to a pdf of the report.

<12> National Record of the Historic Environment, 451071 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Oct 11 2024 3:54PM