Monument record MDO6530 - Oval enclosure on the Verne, Portland

An oval enclosure, now destroyed, used to lie on the Verne approximately 440ft above OD, near to the highest point of the Isle of Portland. It consisted of an unbroken bank with an outer ditch and indications of a counterscarp bank enclosed an area of a third of an acre. The enclosure was better preserved to the W. Its external measurements were 250ft by 150ft. On the S and W two terraces continued for some distance to the N and E along the steep scarp of the hill. Medhurst believed these terraces to be earlier than the enclosure. The enclosure was noted as well preserved until the 17th century until it was destroyed by the construction of the fort on the Verne in 1860. During the construction a number of Romano-British burials were observed in the interior of the enclosure.(1)

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1916, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club for 1916, 246 (Serial). SDO25.

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1923, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club for 1922-1923, 34 (Serial). SDO29.

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 504 (Monograph). SDO150.

Record last edited

Nov 20 2014 12:06PM