Monument record MDO41629 - Possible post medieval extractive pit, Corfe Hills, Corfe Mullen

A possible post medieval extractive pit on open heathland at Corfe Hills, Corfe Mullen, is visible on 1940s aerial photographs. Similar features are visible across large parts of the Dorset heathland, typically situated within areas of both post medieval extraction and early 20th Century military activity. It is often hard to positively identify these small banked and ditched features with one or the other, although some are more clearly military in origin. This feature may be modern military in character; a weapons pit for example, but given an absence of similar features is considered to possibly be post medieval extraction. The feature was digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

A possible post medieval extractive pit on open heathland at Corfe Hills, Corfe Mullen, is visible on 1940s aerial photographs (1).

The feature comprises a sub-circular 6m wide banked enclosure with a 3m in diameter hollow centre and a possible entrance on its SE side.

Similar features are visible across large parts of the Dorset heathland, typically situated within areas of both post medieval extraction and early 20th Century military activity. It is often hard to positively identify these small banked and ditched features with one or the other, although some are more clearly military in origin. This feature may be modern military in character; a weapons pit for example, but given an absence of similar features is considered to possible be a post medieval extractive pit.

The site is under trees on the southern edge of Corfe Hills School on current Google Earth imagery and the feature is no longer visible. It was digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

<1> Royal Air Force, 20-OCT-47, RAF/CPE/UK/2370 V 5051-2 (Aerial Photograph). SDO16181.

Record last edited

Sep 4 2018 10:28AM