Monument record MDO2715 - Ring-ditch, Chard Junction Quarry, Thorncombe

Geophysical survey in 1998 of an area proposed for quarrying revealed a circular anomaly in the data, tentatively identified as a ring-ditch, possibly the remains of a Bronze Age round barrow.

Valentin, J, 1998, The Proposed Hodge Ditch Extension to Chard Junction Quarry, Thorncombe, Dorset: Preliminary Archaeological Assessment of Area 1 (ST3485 0475) and Area 2 (ST3505 0475) (Unpublished document). SDO13910.

‘6 GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY

6.3 Results from detailed gradiometry indicate the presence of two ring ditches on the site (shown on Fig. 2 as a and b). Ring ditch (a) is located in the west zone and its identification is based on a weak magnetic response, so the archaeological interpretation is considered tentative. However, the nature of this feature suggests that it may represent the ploughed out remains of a Bronze Age barrow …

8 COMMENTARY

8.3 … The topography of the current area … makes it an ideal location for prehistoric settlement or for the positioning of funerary monuments. Indeed, the possible identification of two ring ditches, representing the surviving remains of a probable former Bronze Age burial mound and possibly a larger prehistoric enclosure, using geophysical techniques supports this view.’

Record last edited

Nov 7 2025 10:38AM