Monument record MDO47595 - Hanford spur outwork, Hambledon Hill, Child Okeford

A ploughed out Neolithic causewayed linear earthwork on Hambledon Hill. It is one of a series of such features which enclosed much of the hill. Evidence for their date is at present inconclusive, but there are hints in their plan and in stratigraphic relationships that they may be somewhat later in the earlier Neolithic sequence than the construction of the causewayed enclosures on the hill. The Hanford spur outwork was a double causewayed earthwork extending across the upper part of the Hanford spur, running roughly south-west to north-east for approximately 110 metres. It may have been part of a longer linear earthwork with the Stepleton outwork (ST 81 SE 52). Much of the spur outwork was excavated by Roger Mercer during his 1974-86 excavations in view of the threat of total destruction by ploughing. The area is now maintained as pasture. The earthworks on Hambledon Hill were surveyed by RCHME in 1996. A few vestigial scarps relating to the Hanford spur outwork can be traced on the surface, but the earthwork has essentially been ploughed out. A ditched and banked cross dyke on Hambledon Hill is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs and Environment Agency lidar imagery. The feature was digitally plotted during the Mid Dorset Downs AIM project.

(ST 8482 1180 - 8486 1170) 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. The 'Hanford spur outwork', formerly recorded as part of the main causewayed enclosure (ST 81 SW 17), was assigned a new NMR number to enhance the record.
A ploughed out Neolithic causewayed linear earthwork on Hambledon Hill. It is one of a series of such features which enclosed much of the hill. Evidence for their date is at present inconclusive, but there are hints in their plan and in stratigraphic relationships that they may be somewhat later in the earlier Neolithic sequence than the construction of the causewayed enclosures on the hill (ST 81 SW 17, ST 81 SE 52). The Hanford spur outwork was a double causewayed earthwork extending across the upper part of the Hanford spur, running roughly south-west to north-east for approximately 110 metres. It may have been part of a longer linear earthwork with the Stepleton outwork (ST 81 SE 52). Much of the spur outwork was excavated by Roger Mercer during his 1974-86 excavations in view of the threat of total destruction by ploughing. The area is now maintained as pasture. A few vestigial scarps relating to the Hanford spur outwork can be traced on the surface, but the earthwork has essentially been ploughed out. See the parent record (ST 81 SW 17) and the archive report for full details and bibliographic sources. (1)

A full publication on the results of all the investigations at Hambledon Hill causewayed enclosure. See this for details on the excavation results and chronological modelling. (2)

A ditched and banked cross dyke on Hambledon Hill is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs and Environment Agency lidar imagery (RAF 1954; RAF 1970; EA 2018). The feature extends for just under 500m and probably continues outworks to the east associated with a causewayed enclosure (MDO3927). The feature was digitally plotted during the Mid Dorset Downs AIM project.

Royal Air Force, 06-JUL-1970, RAF/58/0598 V 97 (Aerial Photograph). SDO21503.

Royal Air Force, 19-AUG-1954, RAF/542/8 F22 62 (Aerial Photograph). SDO21566.

Environment Agency, xx-xxx-2018, Environment Agency National Lidar Programme DTM 1M (Aerial Photograph). SDO21483.

<1> RCHME: Industry and Enclosure in the Neolithic (Monograph). SWX1665.

<2> Mercer, R, and Healy, F, 2008, Hambledon Hill, Dorset, England. Excavation and survey of a Neolithic monument complex and its surrounding landscape, 338 - 365 (Monograph). SDO13474.

<3> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Historic England Archive AF1079113 RCHME: Hambledon Hill, Dorset (Excavation archive). SDO20294.

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1068507 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 4 2025 12:53PM