Monument record MDO7326 - Mound, Knowle Hill, Church Knowle

A small mound, 8m across is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs to the south east of Norden Wood, Church Knowle. The mound lies in close proximity to other known prehistoric monuments and may be a Bronze Age barrow.

"In May 1861 I examined the remainder of the Barrows upon Bucknowle Hill, situated at about 200 paces east of the one which I opened in a previous year (SY 98 SW 16) and which has been described in the first volume". "There are two large and two smaller with a square earthwork measuring 12 paces in diameter, which would seem to be of later date than the barrows from the fact that its south bank passes across one of them. … The two low barrows were unimportant". <1>

The two mounds east of the published barrows are not mentioned by Grinsell. <2>

SY 94608236. Two, small and irregular mounds lie about 10 yds. to 15 yds. E. of round barrow (A), at the E. end of Knowle Hill. The more westerly is crossed by the bank of a slight ditched enclosure, 30ft. square and probably recent, lying to its N. Austen <1> described the mounds as barrows but their origin is unknown. <3>
SY 945824. Three round barrows on Knowle Hill. Scheduled. (6) ameng 62

'C' SY 94598236. A mutilated oval mound approximately 8.3m by 7.0m and up to 0.7m high. Both mounds have been spread and disturbed by the ditched enclosure (3) 'C' is very close to, almost in, the ditch of 'A', however, they may prove to be small round barrows. The field containing the ditched enclosure to the north of the mounds is under tall mowinggrass. The enclosure could not be positively identified and it is probably ploughed out. Surveyed at 1:2500.<6>

A small mound, 8m across is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs <8> to the south east of Norden Wood, Church Knowle. The mound lies in close proximity to other known prehistoric monuments and may be a Bronze Age barrow. The feature was digitally plotted during the Wild Purbeck Mapping Project.

<1> 2, 1896, Papers read before the Purbeck Society, 55-58 (Serial). SDO20201.

<2> Grinsell, L V, 1959, Dorset Barrows, 101 (Monograph). SDO132.

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 481 (Monograph). SDO150.

<4> Department of the Environment, 1978, Department of the Environment (IAM) Ancient Monuments of England (Vol 2), 62 (Monograph). SWX1687.

<5> Papworth, M D J, Trust for Wessex Archaeology, 1983, Isle of Purbeck Survey (Index). SDO147.

The mounds lie in an occasionally ploughed field in ley pasture when visited.

<6> Fletcher, Martin, Field investigator's comments MJF, F2 MJF 30-APR-86 (Unpublished document). SDO17630.

<7> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Externally held archive: RCH01/093 RCHME Inventory: Dorset II (South-East) (Unpublished document). SDO17434.

<8> National Monuments Record, 18-NOV-2005, NMR SY9482/3-4, 6-9 (NMR 24139/42-8) (Aerial Photograph). SDO13503.

<9> National Record of the Historic Environment, 456939 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Oct 22 2024 12:47PM