Monument record MDO7510 - Oyster shell midden, Cleavel Point, Corfe Castle

A fairly extensive shell midden of mostly oyster shell lying along the foreshore at the extreme tip of Cleavel Point on the Ower peninsula . A brief examination of the exposure in 1958 suggested two shell layers, separated by a layer of dark sandy earth including some traces of coal. Two very small scraps of medieval pottery were found under the lower shell layer suggesting the midden is medieval or later in date. <1>

Deposit about 20m N-S buried 0.2 to 0.6m deep, situated on the east side of the beach, near an iron post. <4>

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1962, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1961, 116 (Serial). SDO61.

‘A medieval or later shell-midden at Cleavel Point, Corfe Castle. A fairly extensive shell-midden, mostly of oysters, crops out along some 60 feet of the foreshore at the extreme tip of Cleavel point in the Ower peninsula, SZ00398596. A brief examination of the face in 1958 suggested two shell layers, separated by a layer of dark sandy earth including some traces of coal. Although one Romano-British sherd was found, two very small scraps of medieval pottery under the lower shell layer showed that the midden was not associated with the Roman sites recorded above.’

<2> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 597-8 (Monograph). SDO150.

<3> Papworth, M D J, Trust for Wessex Archaeology, 1983, Isle of Purbeck Survey, IOP 570 (Index). SDO147.

Cleavel Point: Medieval or later shell midden. Lies on E shore of Cleavel Point on sand, immediately east of rough grass colonized by low shrubs. See OS SZ08NW12. 7/7/C

<4> Welsh T C, 1988, Letter, Dr TC Welsh (Unpublished document). SWX2891.

At the tip of Cleavel Point, SZ00488595, I note a deposit of oyster shell over about 20 metres extent N-S, buried 20 to 60 cm deep, in exposures on east side beach, near an iron post.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 457516 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 22 2023 6:51AM