Monument record MDO20951 - MOUNT PLEASANT: possible extractive pits

Numerous iregular-shaped pit-like features are visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs within and around Mount Pleasant henge enclosure, possibly natural in origin or the result of post-medieval extractive activity.

Numerous iregular-shaped pit-like features, located within and around Mount Pleasant henge enclosure (MDO2890), are visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs and LIDAR {1}. Many of these features may be of natural origin, produced by the pockets of clay or sand known to occur across the ridge from Mount Pleasant to Frome Hill and beyond, while others may be solution holes or tree-throw holes. Some appear to be more regular in shape than others – oval or near-circular – and may be the result of post-medieval extractive activities, but none can be regarded as probably or possibly archaeological in origin solely on the basis of the cropmark evidence {2}.

Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1971, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1970, 126 (Serial). SDO70.

<1> 02-MAY-1993, NMR OS/93105 034 (Aerial Photograph). SDO10984.

<1> 10_MAR-2004, D0032737 (Aerial Photograph). SDO11000.

<1> 14-APR-1968, NMR OS/68053 033 (Aerial Photograph). SDO10922.

<1> Barber, M, 2005, Mount Pleasant 2005 plot (Cartographic materials). SDO10978.

<2> Barber, M, 2008, Mount Pleasant Draft Archive Report 2008 (Unpublished document). SDO10981.

Record last edited

Jan 16 2025 7:05PM