Monument record MDO6417 - North Circle at Knowlton, Woodlands

An enclosure roughly oval in shape (orientated roughly north west-south east) and measuring approximately 92 metres by 100 metres, with a large entrance on the south east side. There has been some uncertainty over its precise form. The monument has been much reduced by ploughing but it comprises a large bank with internal ditch and is interpreted as a Neolithic henge monument. The features are visible as cropmarks and earthworks on aerial photographs of the 1940s and 1990s. It is the northernmost henge in the Knowlton Circles group (SU 01 SW 44). Geophysical survey by Bournemouth University in 1995 showed the site to comprise a rectangular ditched enclosure with external bank, confirming the presence of the south eastern entrance gap [NB the interim report incorrectly places the entrance on the southwest side]. Although generally considered a henge, the form of the monument has obvious parallels with the Thickthorn long barrow and Wor Barrow, among others. No excavation is known to have been undertaken at the site. This enclosure has been mapped from aerial photographs by EH's Knowlton Circles Project and was digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

(SU 02241037) Enclosure known as `Old Churchyard' situated south west of the North Circle. It is a rounded square in plan, 190ft wide, orientated north west- south east. It is bounded by a low bank and an external ditch with indications of an entrance in the south corner. Almost completely destroyed by ploughing. <2>

The 'Old Churchyard'. Enclosure of uncertain origin, measuring about 60 metres in diameter and defined by banks 20 metres wide and 0.5 metres high. Scheduling amended. <8>

The enclosure is visible as a cropmark on aerial photographs and has been mapped by EH's Knowlton Circles Project. <1, 4-5>

(SU 02301045) North Circle has been destroyed by ploughing, its original form is uncertain. The bank is present outside the ditch and aerial photographs (CUAP AQY 101: NMR SU 0210/4/211) show it to be an elongated oval in plan, 310ft (NNW-SSE) and 260ft across, entrance on the south east side. <3>

Knowlton North. SU 02301044. Sub-oval enclosure visible on aerial photographs. <4>

The 'northern circle'. Oval enclosure with a maximum diameter of 94 metres, defined by banks which have been reduced by ploughing to about 20 metres wide and 0.5 metres high. Scheduling amended. <10>

This enclosure has been mapped from aerial photographs by EH's Knowlton Circles Project. <2, 5-6>

The features are visible as cropmarks and earthworks on aerial photographs of the 1940s and 1990s <1, 7-8>. The combined data suggests a broadly 82m by 78m sub-oval enclosure with a 7.7m wide bank and inner ditch, visible only on the west side of the enclosure. Although partial on the northwest side, there is a possible external ditch up to 7m wide in places.The most likely entrance appears to be to the southeast.

The features were digitally plotted by the Dorset Stour NMP project.

<1> Royal Air Force, 20-MAR-45, RAF/106G/LA/187 RS 4102-3 (Aerial Photograph). SDO15645.

<2> National Monuments Record, 26-JUN-1970, NMR SU 0210/7 (NMR 290/108) (Aerial Photograph). SDO19599.

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1975, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume V (East), 113-5 (Monograph). SDO129.

'Monuments (19-22), Knowlton Circles.
These consist of four enclosures, three of normal henge form, which represent the remains of a ritual or ceremonial centre of the late Neolithic period (Plate 80). All but Monument (20) have been severely damaged by cultivation. Their importance as such a centre is emphasised by the concentration of round barrows in the vicinity (Antiquity, XIII (1939), 153-4: R. J. C. Atkinson and others, Excavations at Dorchester, Oxon., Vol. i(1951), 95, 102). … (21) North Circle (02301045) is now largely flattened by ploughing and as a result its original form is uncertain. The bank clearly lies outside the ditch and this suggests strongly that it, too, is a henge. Air photographs (C.U.A.P., AQY 101; N.M.R., SU 0210/4/211) show that it is an elongated oval, some 310 ft. long overall from N.N.W.-S.S.E. and 260 ft. across, with a wide entrance on the S.E. side. The orignal dimensions of the bank and ditch are unrecorded.'

<4> Harding, A F, with G E Lee, 1987, Henge monuments and related sites of Great Britain: air photographic evidence and catalogue, 123-8, Site 050 (Monograph). SDO17363.

<5> National Monuments Record, 13-JUL-1995, NMR SU 0210/78 NMR 15314/15 (Aerial Photograph). SDO18723.

<6> National Monuments Record, 13-JUL-1995, NMR SU 0210/65-7 (NMR 15326/05-7) (Aerial Photograph). SDO19586.

<7> National Monuments Record, 13-JUL-1995, NMR15326/006 (SU0210/066) (Aerial Photograph). SDO15701.

<8> National Monuments Record, 13-JUL-1995, NMR15314/009 (SU0210/072) (Aerial Photograph). SDO15702.

<9> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1996, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1995, 131-2 (Serial). SDO95.

Burrow, S and J Gale. Survey and Excavation at Knowlton Rings, Woodland Parish, Dorset 1993-5.

<10> DCMS, 2002, Scheduled Monument Notification EH Scheduling amendment, 05-JUL-2002 (Scheduling record). SDO18700.

<11> Historic England, Historic England Archive, AF1339047 (Index). SDO14738.

Object Title: EH: Knowlton Circles, Dorset

<12> National Record of the Historic Environment, 621827 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 12 2024 10:45AM