Monument record MDO4566 - Iron Age Enclosure, Pimperne

The ploughed out remains of an oval enclosure overlooking the village of Pimperne has been identified from aerial photo evidence. It appears to have had a single bank and ditch, augmented by an outer ditch on the south western and northern sides. The form of this enclosure suggests that It is probably Iron Age in date. Part of the enclosure ditch was picked up by geophysical survey and subsequently excavated during the archaeological evaluation of the route of the Corfe Mullen to Salisbury Water Transfer Scheme. No dating evidence was recovered. The site of the large oval bank and ditched enclosure is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs and was digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM Project. The record for this monument has been enhanced with support from Wessex Water.

The north west and south west part of this enclosure is visible on aerial photographs dating to 1997 and 2005. These appear to show a second external ditch on the south west side of the circuit and around the northern side. <2-3>

A large curvilinear anomaly (192), indicative of a former cut feature such as a ditch, was identified during geophysical survey of the proposed route of the Corfe Mullen to Salisbury Water Transfer Scheme in 2012. It coincided with a lobe in the north west part of the cropmark enclosure. <4>

The geophysical anomaly was investigated during the subsequent evaluation excavation of the proposed route of the Corfe Mullen to Salisbury Water Transfer Scheme in 2012. Trench 28 cut across the line of the geophysical anomaly which proved to be caused by a V-shaped ditch (28002) about 2.5m wide and 0.75m deep. Three fills were identified and the profiles of these deposits suggested the former presence of a bank on the eastern side. No finds were recovered from the ditch. <5>

The record for this monument has been enhanced with support from Wessex Water.

The site of the large double-ditched oval bank and ditched enclosure is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs [8-10] and was digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour AIM Project. It's internal dimensions are 355m by 242m; it appears to be multivallate at it's southern end.

Royal Air Force, 17-JUL-1958, RAF 58/3250 0137-8 (Aerial Photograph). SDO17721.

<1> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1972, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume IV (North), 55 (Monograph). SDO99.

'(17) ENCLOSURE (900094), probably Iron Age, now totally levelled by ploughing, comprises an irregular oval of 20 acres, formerly defined by a single bank and ditch. It lies at just over 250 ft above OD at athe SE end of a spour overlooking the village and encircles an angle of the Pimperne-Stourpaine road. The site was discovered from air photographs (V 58/RAD/3250 : 0137-8).'

<2> 1997, DCC 23-0324 (Aerial Photograph). SDO14110.

<3> GetMapping, 2005, Digital vertical aerial photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDO12563.

<4> Marsh, B and Biggs, M, 2012, Geophysical Survey Report Corfe Mullen to Salisbury WTS, 24 (Unpublished document). SDO14089.

192 Within the Pimperne Pumping Station area, a large curvilinear anomaly has been identified along the eastern field boundary. This anomaly is indicative of a former cut feature such as a ditch and is classified as of probable archaeological origin.

<5> Havard, T and Nicholl, M, 2013, Corfe Mullen to Salisbury Transfer Scheme, Wessex Water, Dorset and Wiltshire: Archaeological Evaluation, 17 (Unpublished document). SDO14094.

North-east/south-west orientated ditch 28002 (Fig. 50, Section 37) was located at the southern end of Trench 28 corresponded with an extensive curvilinear geophysical anomaly. No finds were recovered from any of the three identified fills, primary fill 28004, secondary fill 28005 and final fill 28006. The profiles of these deposits suggested the presence of bank erosion from the south side. A north-east/south-west linear anomaly depicted further north on the geophysical survey was not identified during the evaluation.

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 209423 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

<8> National Monuments Record, 26-MAR-1968, NMR 66/275-6 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18955.

<9> Royal Air Force, 11-APR-1947, RAF CPE/UK/1975 4012 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18941.

<10> Ordnance Survey, 19-MAR-2000, OS/00027 V 32 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18956.

Record last edited

Nov 30 2022 7:04PM