Hambledon Hill Causewayed Enclosure Dorset
Early Neolithic (3700–3400 BCE)·Early Neolithic·🇬🇧 England, Dorset, near Child Okeford, United Kingdom
About
About Hambledon Hill Causewayed Enclosure Dorset
Dorset's flagship causewayed enclosure excavated by Mercer 1974–86, with human skull deposits and later Stepleton enclosure. Recorded context — Period: Early Neolithic (3700–3400 BCE); Culture: Early Neolithic; Field status: excavated; Materials: chalk, flint; Condition: preserved — earthworks.
Why it mattersKey Early Neolithic earthwork with stratified sequence and regional typology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Astronomical alignment
- 02Collapse cause
Theories
- 01Observatory
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 3700 BCE central enclosure; 3650 BCE outer
- Period
- Early Neolithic (3700–3400 BCE)
- Culture
- Early Neolithic
- Purpose
- Hilltop causewayed enclosure complex with long barrow and later Iron Age hillfort
- Rediscovered
- Modern excavation 1972
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 1200 CE major extension
Major expansion / refurbishment at Hambledon Hill Causewayed Enclosure Dorset
2005 excavation
Modern rediscovery and scientific excavation of Hambledon Hill Causewayed Enclosure Dorset
c. 3700 BCE central enclosure; 3650 BCE outer
Initial construction / first occupation at Hambledon Hill Causewayed Enclosure Dorset
On the ground
Structures & features
50.9110° N · 2.2100° W · 192 m · 3 mapped features
- Hambledon Hill Causewayed Enclosure Dorset — Principal Rampartrampartrampart at Hambledon Hill Causewayed Enclosure Dorset — outlier feature50.9100° N · 2.2090° W
- Hambledon Hill Causewayed Enclosure Dorset — Northern Ditchditchditch at Hambledon Hill Causewayed Enclosure Dorset — hydraulic feature50.9128° N · 2.2087° W
- Hambledon Hill Causewayed Enclosure Dorset — Southern Entranceentranceentrance at Hambledon Hill Causewayed Enclosure Dorset — subsidiary complex50.9092° N · 2.2107° W
Gallery