| Summary : A Neolithic causewayed enclosure on Court Hill, near East Dean. The enclosure occupies the tip of a spur, with the bank and ditch approximately following the contours except for the northeast side, where the earthwork crosses the level top of the spur in a manner similar to a cross-ridge dyke. It consists of a single sub-circular or polygonal circuit, noticeably flattened in the north-east, with an internal bank, a maximum dimension of 175 metres and an approximate area of 2 hectares. A separate crescentic bank and ditch with one apparent entrance lies immediately to the north, and round barrows and a field system are nearby. The earthworks are ploughed down, but for a part of the enclosure circuit which runs through woodland. A possible outer bank is visible on air photographs on the north western side. Air photographs also suggest the presence of at least five causeways in addition to that noted during excavation, although these could not be traced on the ground. Trial excavation in 1982 followed suggestions that the enclosure was Neolithic, rather than Iron Age as had generally been assumed. Finds were few but included Neolithic potsherds plus some flint flakes, and a small sample of animal bone produced an Early Neolithic radiocarbon date. A crescent-shaped bank and ditch a short distance to the north was also examined by a single trial trench. A few flint flakes were found, and the ditch profile and silting sequence resembled that of the enclosure, but firm dating evidence was lacking. Earthwork survey and cropmark interpretation were undertaken by RCHME in 1995 as part of the Industry and Enclosure Project. The survey recorded at least one and possibly two causeways across this bank and ditch which, as a whole, is very similar in form to the south eastern side of the enclosure. Recent research into the dating of causewayed enclosures suggests that the enclosure was probably constructed in 3650-3530 cal BC. The crescentic earthwork remains undated. |
More information : [SU 89771375] (2) Air photos revealed a low bank and outer ditch on Court Hill, roughly circular, measuring approx. 580ft NW-SE by 530ft NE-SW, the OS trig. station lying approx. 30ft inside the perimeter at the SW side. No entrances are obvious.
The ground inside the earthwork shows no signs of disturbance and no surface pottery was found. The evidence of the feeble rampart and shallow ditch suggest an E.I.A. hill fort or cattle enclosure. (1-2)
A univallate IA fort, at the SW end of the elongated summit of Court Hill, measures c 183m E-W by c 178m N to S. The bank and ditch is largely reduced to a scarp except on the E side, at the point of easiest access, where in a belt of trees the bank is 7.0m wide and 0.3m high, and the ditch 0.4m deep. No entrance is visible.
Surveyed at 1:2500. (3)
Trial excavation was undertaken in 1982 following suggestions that the enclosure may be of Neolithic rather than Iron Age date. The enclosure ditch was sampled at three locations. Finds were few but included abraded Neolithic pot sherds and a small quantity of flint flakes. Unfortunately their context is not stated in the excavation report. A small sample of animal bone from the base of the ditch in one of the trenches produced a radiocarbon determination of 3470 +/- 180bc [uncalibrated]. Comparison is made with the Neolithic enclosure at Bury Hill (TQ 01 SW 28).
A crescent-shaped bank and ditch a short distance to the north, also surviving as a slight earthwork, was sampled by a single trench. No closely-datable artefacts (a few flint flakes) were recovered but the ditch profile and silting sequence were very similar to those of the circular enclosure, possibly suggesting a degree of contemporaneity. Bedwin suggests it may have been some form of boundary earthwork. (4)
(SU 8976 1375) In December 1995, RCHME carried out an earthwork survey and aerial photographic interpretation of the enclosure as part of the project to record Industry and Enclosure in the Neolithic period (5).
The earthwork is essentially as described by Source 3; however, a possible entrance was identified mid-way along the better preserved ENE side, on the highest point of the spur. The aerial photographic transcription revealed more.
Numerous flint flakes were noted in the course of the survey, and two tools were collected (SU 81 SE 57).
For further details and analysis, see RCHME Level 3 client report and plan at 1:1000 with aerial photographic transcription, held in NMR archive. (5)
Scheduled monument. The enclosure on Court Hill was partly excavated in 1982 when it was dated, by
radiocarbon analysis, to around 3300 BC. Environmental evidence collected during the investigations suggests that the enclosure was constructed in a small woodland clearing, and finds included fragments of Neolithic pottery and worked flint. A survey in 1995 revealed that the roughly circular enclosure is defined by a bank flanked by an external ditch of causewayed construction. A slight berm separates the ditch from the bank and traces of an outer bank were identified on the north western side of the enclosure. Access to the interior, which covers an area of about 2.3ha, was by way of a simple entrance on the north eastern side.
The earthworks have been partly levelled by modern ploughing and survive mainly in the form of a slight scarp and as buried features visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs. A more pronounced section of the north eastern earthworks survives below the summit of the hill as a bank up to about 0.4m high and 6m wide, and a partly infilled ditch up to 5m wide and 0.3m deep. The investigations revealed that the original ditch bottom still survives at a depth of up to 1.1m below ground. The earthworks have been partly disturbed by later tracks and by windblown trees.
Aerial photographs have revealed an associated south west-north east aligned, crescent-shaped earthwork extending across the north western slope of Court Hill, around 25m to the north of the main enclosure earthworks. It was partly excavated in 1982 and is considered to represent a contemporary settlement boundary. The earthworks survive as a slight bank which is flanked on its southern, uphill side by an infilled ditch of causewayed construction. House platforms, burial mounds and a range of prehistoric artefacts were discovered in the vicinity of the earthwork in 1951.
The designated record of the causewayed enclosure can be accessed online from the National Heritage List for England. (6-7)
Recent research into the dating of causewayed enclosures suggests that the enclosure was probably constructed in 3650-3530 cal BC. The crescentic earthwork remains undated. (8) |