Monument record MDO7878 - Iron Age occupation, Hen Cliff, Steeple

Iron Age and Romano-British inhumation burials,working floors and occupation debris indicating shale working and salt-boiling have been found at Kimmeridge Bay in the cliff about 50ft above sea level west of Gaulter Gap. Much material has been excavated from the site by Miles, Austen and others since `coal money' was first recorded here by Hutchins in 1768. The sequence of occupation has been determined by clearance of the cliff-face at seven points by Dr. Henrietta Davies and excavation of some 80 square yards close to it by J. B. Calkin (SY 90707917); the site extends some 240 yards west of the Gap (SY 90787911 to SY 90607923) and perhaps for some 200 yards inland.

An occupation level at a depth of about 3ft was associated with early phase Iron Age 'A' working-floors of hand-cut shale armlet industry employing semi-standardized flint tools. A sterile deposit above this indicated a hiatus, followed by a further Iron Age 'A' occupation marked by haematite-coated pottery in a loamy deposit containing several thin areas of burnt material. Short lengths of straight and curved drystone walls and pieces of burnt daub were interpreted as remains of huts at least once replaced. There was some evidence for the continued production of shale armlets in this later phase. Pieces of small cylindrical jars, apparently cut in half to form troughs and thought to relate to a salt-boiling industry, were mainly associated with the burnt layers.

The upper level of some 12-18 inches below topsoil, contained Romano-British pottery of 2nd - 4th century with some mixture of native types of perhaps earlier date. A drystone wall is recorded but otherwise daub and groups of pebbles were the only evidence of structures in this phase. Abundant waste cores and associated debris indicated a very considerable lathe-turned shale armlet industry.

A late 3rd century cist burial cut through the workshop floor at SY 90707917, above which was a similar secondary burial.

Miles' excavation yielded much material including a mortar, and supposed bullock sacrifice in a pentagonal cist of shale slabs; his pieces of hand moulded clay associated with burnt shale stongly suggest the props used in local saltings of the Roman period. Romano-British sherds and several armlet cores were also found by W. H. Frend at circa 90837930. Finds from the site are in the British Museum, Dorset County Museum, Christchurch Museum and London Inst. of Arch. <4>

An account of the Romano-British shale turning industry using pole lathes, based on experimental work since 1979, suggests turning methods for both armlets and bowls and that the lack of vessel cores in archaeological context may be explained by their re-use for sectioning into armlets and rings. <7>

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1948, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1947, 33-41 (Serial). SDO47.

<2> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1963 (Map). SWX1540.

(SY 90717918) Iron Age & Romano-British Shale Working Site (NAT)

<3> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1963, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1962, 139-141 (Serial). SDO62.

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 3, 608 (Monograph). SDO150.

<5> (R A H Farrar), 1975, Prehistoric and Roman Saltworks in Dorset (Article in monograph). SWX2805.

<6> Papworth, M D J, Trust for Wessex Archaeology, 1983, Isle of Purbeck Survey, IOP 203 (Index). SDO147.

<7> Council for British Archaeology, 1985, Council for British Archaeology Group 12: Newsletter, October 1985, 5-6 (Article in serial). SWX2806.

<8> Cox, P W, 1994, Proposed New Access Road to wellsite at Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset (SY 906792). Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment. (Unpublished document). SWX8523.

<9> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Externally held archive: RCH01/093 RCHME Inventory: Dorset II (South-East) (Unpublished document). SDO17434.

<10> Historic England, Historic England Archive, 883629 (Index). SDO14738.

RCHME: Kimmeridge Bay, Steeple, Dorset. Site known as Hen Cliff

<11> National Record of the Historic Environment, 456559 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 6 2024 4:36PM