SDO21398 - Pilsdon Pen, Dorset. A Geophysical Survey

'Licensed by English Heritage under Section 42 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, a geophysical survey using magnetometry was carried out over two days in April 2013 on the interior of the Iron Age hillfort known as Pilsdon Pen in the parish of Pilsdon, West Dorset. Medieval ploughing and turf removal for Lord’s cricket ground have made only superficial damage to the site and the ring ditches of Iron Age structures still show clearly across the whole of the interior. The mounds left by later use as a rabbit warren are visible as low earthworks and also can be traced as weak magnetic anomalies, while twentieth century excavations, now devoid of features, show clearly as lacunae in the dense traces of habitation. Despite being intensively occupied, there is little evidence of an organised layout and a minimal number of storage pits, suggesting that Pilsdon was not used as a storage and redistribution centre for surplus crops.'