Monument record MDO2716 - Enclosure, Chard Junction Quarry, Thorncombe

<1> Valentin, J, 1998, The Proposed Hodge Ditch Extension to Chard Junction Quarry, Thorncombe, Dorset: Preliminary Archaeological Assessment of Area 1 (ST3485 0475) and Area 2 (ST3505 0475) (Unpublished document). SDO13910.

‘6 GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY

6.3 Results from detailed gradiometry indicate the presence of two ring ditches on the site (show on Fig. 2 as a and b). Ring ditch (b) … was partly identified at the east end of the survey area. The magnetic response was stronger in this zone, therefore there is greater confidence in its interpretation. This feature appears to be similar in nature and proportion to the prehistoric enclosure identified on the adjoining ridge (Valentin in prep.), and therefore may have a comparable function.

8 COMMENTARY

8.3 … The topography of the current area … makes it an ideal location for prehistoric settlement or for the positioning of funerary monuments. Indeed, the possible identification of two ring ditches, representing the surviving remains of a probable former Bronze Age burial mound and possibly a larger prehistoric enclosure, using geophysical techniques supports this view.

8.5 The possible presence of a prehistoric enclosure (b), similar in proportion to the settlement enclosure excavated on the adjacent ridge, may indicate the presence of two contemporary settlements on adjoining ridges, the evidence from the excavated enclosure suggesting only short-term occupation. It is also possible that one of the two enclosures represents a shift in settlement …’

Record last edited

Dec 1 2014 10:47AM