| Summary : A complex of single and multiple ditched linears on Gussage Hill, visible as both earthworks and cropmarks. The complex as a whole is of considerable extent, incorporating several enclosures and associated with traces of a field system (see associated monument records for further details of these). The complex was first recorded and described by Colt Hoare in the early 19th century, though further elements have come to light since then. The most northwesterly element of the complex is as follows: a single ditch and bank, partly extant as earthworks and also marking the modern boundary between the parishes of Gussage St Michael and Sixpenny Handley. Following a slightly sinuous but broadly southwest-northeast course between ST 98051390, the single ditch and bank is eventually supplemented by further lines of bank and ditch. At ST 99151435, the linears meet the northern end of enclosure ST 91 SE 135 before turning north-northeast for circa 250 metres, and then turning northwest for a further 600 metres or so before fading from view. However, the alignment does appear to be continued by linear features a little further north. A series of linear ditches and field systems, broadly sharing the same alignments as the main linear are also visible to the north and west. These are described as ST 91 SE 210. The southwestern continuation of the complex across Gussage Hill is described as ST 91 SE 135, 211 and other associated monuments. See also ST 91 SE 41 for further details of linear earthworks in the Gussage Hill-Thickthorn Down area. |
More information : (ST 994138) Settlement (NR)
(ST 98141390-ST 98901509) Earthwork (NR). (1)
IRON AGE AND ROMANO-BRITISH SETTLEMENT (991143-000133), on
Gussage Hill, associated with boundary dykes and 'Celtic' fields
(ST 91 SE 12), is one of the largest native occupation sites
in Dorset. Extending for nearly a mile from the N.W. to S.E. it
lies on a N.E. slope, just below the summit of the hill, between
300 ft. and 375 ft. above O.D. The central part of the complex
overlies the Dorset Cursus which was integrated with the
accompanying pattern of 'Celtic' fields. The earliest plan and
account of the site, by Sir Richard Colt Hoare (a) suggests that it
was relatively undamaged at that time, but subsequent accounts
show that within a century ploughing had began to take its toll.
Today, much of the site has been damaged or levelled by
cultivation, and from surface inspection of the surviving remains
it is not possible to recover with any accuracy the sequence
of development.
The N.W. end of the site comprises an irregular, elongated
enclosure of about 16 acres defined by a bank with an external
ditch. Two smaller enclosures, defined by the same bank and
ditch intrude into the N.E. side of the main enclosure, but are
entered from outside it by means of narrow, funnel-like
approaches. The northern of these smaller enclosures, covering about
1/2 acre, has been discovered only recently from the air. The
southern, about 3/4 acre, has traces of 'outworks' at the entrance.
The smaller enclosures were probably for livestock and that on the
S.E. is notably devoid of surface finds relating to human occupation.
Between the two smaller enclosures, an occupation area (99251415)
shows up under the plough as patches of dark soil associated with
concentrations of pottery, chiefly Romano-British coarse wares
with some samian ware, including a base with the stamp of
Maximinus of Lezoux (c. 155-180), indicating that the site was
occupied from the early 2nd to the 4th century. Sherds of late
Iron Age type have also been recovered. Colt Hoare shows
occupation extending as far as the N. end of the main enclosure.
Fragments of a haematite-coated furrowed bowl of early Iron Age
type were found just W. of the enclosure, at 990143. Boundary
dykes, almost certainly later than the main enclosure, extend
N. and W. from its N. end. Near the enclosure they comprise
three low, rounded parallel banks, close-set with intervening
ditches, but these divide or diminish in number as they get
further away from the enclosure. It is possible that they
represent further enclosures, elsewhere destroyed. The area
(986150) adjacent to the dykes, W of Thorney Down Farm, appears
from an air photograph to have been divided into a number of
roughly rectangular enclosures defined by ditches.Other boundary
dykes, both single and multiple, extend S.E. from the main
enclosure and define an elongated triangular area of about 22 acres;
it crosses the Cursus and incorporates long barrows and round
barrows. Adjoining it on the N.E. are traces of smaller enclosures
and beyond it on the S.E., towards the Roman road, is a second
occupation area (around 999135). Surface pottery from this area is
confined almost entirely to later Romano-British wares (3rd and
4th century) including New Forest products.
Almost certainly this is the site where Colt Hoare dug 'in
several places and found Roman pottery, brick flues, and even
stuccoed walls painted'. Adjacent (999134), a small trapezoidal
earthwork, about 110 ft. by 90 ft., is defined by a bank with an
external ditch, now heavily ploughed. A small test excavation
failed to establish its relationship with the occupation site.
Finds from the site are in D.C.M. and B.M. (2-3)
Additional information on banjo and trapezoidal enclosures, plus a revised plan. Air photographs reveal a continuation of the linear features of the site as follows:-
ST 98531464 to SW, length 850m
ST 98561505 to SW, length 500m
NW of Gussage Hill; roughly parallel, sinuous, may have connected with [ST 91 SE 111, Sixpenny Handley], and [ST 91 SE 1, Tarrant Hinton].
ST 99951475. Triple ditch for 250 m terminating sharply at W and thence extending S at right angles as single ditch for 100m.
SU 00171463 to SE for 380m. (4-5)
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