Monument record MDO49016 - Prehistoric flint extraction site, Black Hill, Cerne Abbas

Limited excavation in 1981-2 and field walking in 1983 indicate activity from the Neolithic to the Roman periods, including flint extraction and working on the hill top from the Late Neolithic onwards.

Excavation during 1981/1982 and fieldwalking during 1983 revealed Late Neolithic flint extraction, preceding settlement on the hill top which dated from the early Bronze Age until the Romano-British period.

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1982, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1981, 122 (Serial). SDO81.

<2> Bond, D, 1983, An examination of a scheduled area and fields at Black Hill, Cerne Abbas, Dorset (Article in serial). SDO14050.

<3> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1983, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1982, 67-70 (Serial). SDO82.

<4> Cox, P W and Woodward, P J, 1984, Field Survey of the Ancient Fields and Enclosures at Black Hill, Cerne Abbas, Dorset, 55-64 (Unpublished document). SDO152.

<5> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1985, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1984, 111 (Serial). SDO84.

‘The two enclosures and associated field earthworks at Black Hill were examined and assessed by excavation and survey in December and January 1981/82. Additional fieldwork was undertaken in the late autumn of 1983 when parts of the western hilltop were ploughed for the first time. … The artefact distributions have enabled some definition of functional zones. … survey demonstrates that flint was extracted and worked on the hilltop from the early prehistoric period (Late Neolithic) onwards, and notably in the north-eastern area.’

<6> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1988, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1987, 55-64 (Serial). SDO87.

Record last edited

Nov 1 2024 10:15AM