Monument record MDO7630 - Mounds on Holme Heath, East Holme

Short report of Austen's excavation. <1>

<1> Austen, J, 1858, Archaeological Journal 15, p151-2, Illus. (Serial). SWX2961.

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

‘(12) MOUNDS, small, a large group (SY 98 NW; 90628532-90678531), lie N. of Battle Plain on Holme Heath. Austen (Purbeck Papers I, 233-8) described 120 in 1860 though he showed only 107 in his drawing (re-presented here). Forty-five could be plotted with certainty in recent years, lying in approximately parallel rows running from the crest down the S. shoulder of a gravel knoll (see introduction to round barrows E. Holme (9-11)). These are close enough to Austen's positions to show that the rest of his plan can be accepted as a rough guide to the lay-out in his day.
Some of the mounds are only 20 ft. apart, centre to centre, but most are more widely spaced. All are very roughly circular and (with one exception, 6 ft. across) vary in diameter from 9 ft. to 15 ft. Twenty-nine are between 9 ft. and 12 ft. Ht. is generally 1 ft. to 1 1/2 ft., though two are 9 ins. high and three 2 ft. high. All are densely covered in heather and many are disturbed. The plantation banks and ditches shown by Austen, virtually the same as exist today, cut athwart the rows of mounds and one mound, on the S., is sliced.
The whole area was planted in Austen's day, as now, and he says 'the trees which had been planted on them were of much larger size than the generality of those upon the level ground'. He dug into many of the mounds and 'found that they all contained the remains of burned furze in the state of charcoal'.
R.C.H.M. excavated one of the mounds, (a), in 1956. It was found to be built of sods piled direct on an old ground surface. There was no ditch and no internal feature of any sort. The only find, of a rough flint scraper in the body of the mound, had no significance since similar artefacts can be picked up on the heath around. There appeared to be the remains of at least four generations of trees. Professor Dimbleby, then of the Commonwealth Forestry Institute, examined pollen samples from a further mound, (b), (also barren of archaeological finds) and concluded that 'the raw humus was buried not later than mediaeval times and not earlier than the Iron Age'. He tended to favour an early place in this bracket. 'The land at that time was dominated by heather. 'Both the date and purpose of these mounds remain obscure. Mound (c) appears to lie over the tail of the Bronze Age barrow (9). A connection with tree planting seems possible but, according to Professor Dimbleby, unlikely.’

<3> Papworth, M D J, Trust for Wessex Archaeology, 1983, Isle of Purbeck Survey, IOP 127 (Index). SDO147.

‘Earthworks still clear on the edge of managed coniferous woodland. 7/7/C.’

<4> Historic England, Historic England Archive, BB74/04547 (Index). SDO14738.

PLAN OF BARROWS AND MOUNDS NORTH OF BATTLE PLAIN. TWO PLANS BY AUSTEN AND ONE OF THE RCHME EXCAVATION IN 1956. THE PURPOSE OF THE MOUNDS IS UNKNOWN (ALSO SHOWING SECTION OF BARROW)

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 456731 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 15 2022 3:11PM