Monument record MDO37382 - Hengiform or Pit Circle Monument, south east of Manor Farm, Pimperne.

A circular arrangement of at least six probable pits surrounding a central feature, set on the Blandford Downs overlooking Pimperne, visible on aerial photographs dated 2005. This monument was partially excavated by AC archaeology, confirming the air photo evidence of a small hengiform or pit circle. No secure dating evidence was recovered. (The record for this monument has been created with support from Wessex Water). Five of the pits were digitally plotted from aerial photographs during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM Project.

A circular arrangement of at least five or six probable pits or short ditch lengths around what appears to be a central pit-like feature, set on The Blandford Downs overlooking Pimperne and visible on aerial photographs dated 2005. The monument as a whole has a diameter of c 22 metres, and its form suggests it is potentially of Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age date. Its easternmost arc is obscured/truncated by the ditch of a large (possibly Iron Age) oval enclosure. [1]

This monument was recorded by geophysical survey as part of the survey of the route of the Wessex Water Corfe Mullen to Salisbury Transfer Scheme in 2012. It consisted of an arc of five, possibly six pit-like anomalies with a wider gap in the SSE quadrant and a central pit. The arrangement along the east side was obscured by a linear anomaly (194), which may be part of a large enclosure to the east (MDO4566). [2]

This feature was investigated by AC archaeology as part of the archaeological mitigation of the Wessex Water Corfe Mullen to Salisbury Transfer Scheme. The western half of the monument was stripped to reveal a circular arrangement of at least four, possibly five, large and regularly spaced pits with an internal intermittent gully and a central pit. It had an external diameter of 21m, and an internal diameter of approximately 14m. The intermittent gully was very shallow and was composed of short (0.8m to 2.8m) lengths of curvilinear gully, 0.6-0.7m wide and between 0.05-0.15m deep. No dating evidence was recovered. The ring of large pits range in size from 1.3-5.5m across and are circular or ovoid in shape. Only one pit was excavated and this may have originally held an upright post. The central pit was also excavated and evidence suggesting an upright post was also present. This monument is not well dated, with only a few abraded sherds of Bronze Age pottery in secondary fills of the pits. Normally this type of feature tends to date to the Late Neolithic period. [3]

Five of the pits were digitally plotted from aerial photographs [1] during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM Project.

<1> GetMapping, 2005, Digital vertical aerial photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDO12563.

<2> Marsh, B and Biggs, M, 2012, Geophysical Survey Report Corfe Mullen to Salisbury WTS, Anomaly 193 (Unpublished document). SDO14089.

<3> Brace, D, Carter, D, Cox, P, Firth, E, and Robinson, S, 2016, The Wessex Water Corfe Mullen to Salisbury transfer scheme (B0400 and B0456) 2013-2016 Site and finds assessment and updated project design, 24-29 (Unpublished document). SDO15394.

Record last edited

Nov 30 2022 6:40PM