Monument record MDO3718 - Long barrow on Hambledon Hill, Child Okeford

A long barrow inside the Iron Age hillfort on Hambledon Hill. In 1970 this monument was described as a regular earthwork aligned north – south, with side ditches visible as slight depressions. The mound was 240 feet long, 55 feet wide and nearly 6 feet high.

A V-shaped trench cut through the middle of the barrow from west to east almost certainly represents antiquarian excavation. It was commented on by Charles Warne (1872) though he does not mention any finds and it is uncertain if he knew when the excavation occurred. <1>

ST 84531265: Long barrow with central mutilation.
ST 84541256: Supposed barrow, remains of rampart of Hambledon Hillfort. <3>

A long barrow at ST 84531265 measures 225 feet long, 48 feet wide and 8 feet high. The centre of the mound has been dug into and the spoil has been thrown to each side. The side ditches, extending the full length of the mound, are now only slight depressions. A mound at ST 84541256, marked as a tumulus by OS, is probably part of the hillfort. <4> <6>

ST 84511265. The long barrow is aligned along the apex of the ridge. It measures 66.0m long and is larger at its south end, measuring 16.0m long and is larger at its south end, measuring 16.0m wide and 2.5m high compared to 14.0m wide and 1.8m high at the north end. The east and west side ditches, 8.0m and 5.5m respectively, are defined by level terraces about 3.0m lower than the crest of the long barrow.The central gash is probably the result of the 1872 excavation <7> and there is a further mutilation on the east side towards the north end. Surveyed at 1:2500 on PFD. <8>

(ST 8452 1265) Between late May and late August 1996 the Cambridge and Exeter offices of RCHME carried out an earthwork survey and aerial photographic interpretation of the complex of monuments on Hambledon Hill as part of the project to record Industry and Enclosure in the Neolithic period <9>. The barrow is one of two apparently directly associated with the main causewayed enclosure.

The barrow is as described by Source 8; it is also worth noting that the western ditch appears to have been causewayed in at least two places. It is also significant that the barrow has not been mutilated by Iron Age houses etc. Source 2 is completely incorrect in suggesting that the barrow may be part of the early rampart, which lies some distance to the south.

Ground photography was also carried out by RCHME: see negatives AA96/2866 & 2864 (distant view). For further details, see RCHME Level 3 client report and plan surveyed at 1:1000 scale, held in archive. <10>

For a full description and analysis of the investigations at Hambledon Hill see this publication. <11>

<1> Warne, C, 1872, Ancient Dorset (2nd Edition), 325 (Monograph). SWX1971.

<2> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1891 (Map). SWX1540.

ST 84531265 & ST 84541256. Tumuli (NR)

<3> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 18-JAN-56 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<4> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 78, 100 (Monograph). SDO132.

<5> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1962 (Map). SWX1540.

ST 84531265. Long Barrow (NR)

<6> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 1, 83 (Monograph). SDO146.

'(23) Long barrow (84531265), is prominently sited at 620 ft. [on] Hambledon Hill, and lies within the ramparts of the Iron Age hill-fort. It is aligned almost due N.-S. (345º) by reason of the site and is strikingly regular in plan and profile, except for an undated gash across it just N. of centre. The parallel-sided mound, 240 ft. long and 55 ft. wide, is nearly 6ft. high and fairly level along its length, with steep straight sides rising to a narrow flat top. The side ditches, extending the full length of the mound, are now visible only as slight depressions.'

<6.1> NMR ST 8412/4 & 6 (Aerial Photograph). SDO20384.

<7> Mercer, R, 1976, Hambledon Hill 1976 (Interim Report), 3 (Monograph). SDO20383.

<8> Chaplin, C P, Various, Field Investigators Comments CC, F2 CC 06-APR-78 (Unpublished document). SWX3450.

<9> RCHME: Industry and Enclosure in the Neolithic (Monograph). SWX1665.

<10> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Historic England Archive AF1079113 RCHME: Hambledon Hill, Dorset (Excavation archive). SDO20294.

<11> Mercer, R, and Healy, F, 2008, Hambledon Hill, Dorset, England. Excavation and survey of a Neolithic monument complex and its surrounding landscape (Monograph). SDO13474.

<12> National Record of the Historic Environment, 206237 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jan 23 2025 10:35AM