Monument record MDO40 - Mound, Abbotsbury Castle

A mound situated within the enclosure of Abbotsbury Castle hill fort, and interpreted as a probable Bronze Age round barrow. In 1952 this monument was reported as being around 40 feet in diameter with a mound about 5 feet high and with traces of a surrounding ditch. The top of the mound is disturbed; it has been suggested that the mound may have been re-used as a beacon in the medieval period.

The earthwork mound is clearly visible as earthworks on aerial photographs within Abbotsbury Castle. It is considered likely to be a Bronze Age round barrow, perhaps reused as a medieval beacon (MDO13). The site was digitally plotted during the South Dorset Ridgeway Mapping Project. <2-3>

Grinsell recorded this barrow as 14 paces in diameter and 6 feet in height. <4>

<1> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 11 (Monograph). SDO97.

'Within the enclosure is a mound of 40 ft. diam. and 5 ft. high, and with traces of a surrounding ditch. There has been some disturbance at the top. To the E. and N.E. of this mound are traces of a number of hut-hollows, which are, with one exception, all about 20 ft. in diam. and surrounded by slight banks. The exception is about 15 ft. in diam. Loose stones on the surface may indicate former walling.'

<2> Royal Air Force, 22-JAN-1948, RAF/CPE/UK/2431 3285-6 (Aerial Photograph). SDO11624.

<3> 02-FEB-1971, NMR SY 5586/14-22 (178/32-3 & 292-304) (Aerial Photograph). SDO11618.

<4> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 85 (Monograph). SDO132.

Record last edited

Jan 22 2025 12:23PM