Monument record MDO7451 - Prehistoric or Romano-British settlement on Kingston Down, Corfe Castle

A Prehistoric or Romano-British settlement covering 3 acres on Kingston Down. Iron Age pottery was found. The extensive system of earthworks are visible on aerial photographs and lidar.

A prehistoric or Romano-British settlement covering 3 acres or more on a coastal plateau situated on Kingston 97 NE 28); the precise limits of the settlement are uncertain as they are so integrated with the fields. Two shallow circular depressions about 22ft and 27ft across lie 120ft apart in an area of disturbed closes, some with curved sides, defined by low banks. Iron Age C or Romano-British sherds were found on the surface. Two tracks lead from it: one west south west to the south tip of the plateau, where rough platforming suggests a further possible area of settlement, and a second south west diagonally downhill for 250 yards between Celtic fields before being lost in an area of landslip. (For similar settlement nearby see SY 97 NE 63) Plan. <2>

SY 957780. Romano-British Farmstead on Kingston Down. Scheduled (Protected by Preservation Order) (Scheduling includes the 'Celtic' field system SY 97 NE 28 and the settlement - SY 97 NE 63) <3>

The extensive complex of field boundaries, trackways and settlement features were visible as earthworks and digitally plotted from lidar during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset). <5-6>

<1> Farrar, R A H, 1952, Archaeological Fieldwork in Dorset in 1952. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society (Article in serial). SWX1587.

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1953, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1952, 92 (Serial). SDO52.

<2> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 510 (Monograph). SDO150.

<3> Department of the Environment, 1977, Department of the Environment (IAM) Ancient Monuments of England (Vol 1), 79 (Monograph). SWX2598.

<4> Papworth, M D J, Trust for Wessex Archaeology, 1983, Isle of Purbeck Survey, IOP 50 (Index). SDO147.

'The settlement lies in a field of permanent pasture. Earthworks are visible. British Gas Corp. AP//1979//9163-22, 9165-2, 6, 12, 13 OS SY97NE 63. 7/7/C.'

<5> Channel Coastal Observatory, 23-MAR-2008, Lidar (Photograph). SDO12878.

<6> Channel Coastal Observatory, 25-FEB-2009, Lidar (Aerial Photograph). SDO12879.

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 456501 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 7 2022 4:16PM