Monument record MDO18076 - Flagstones central round barrow, Dorchester

A probable Bell Barrow constructed in the centre of the Flagstones Neolithic enclosure in the early 2nd millennium BC. There was a central crouched inhumation burial sealed beneath a large sarsen stone. This was sealed beneath a mound constructed of chalk quarried from a surrounding ring ditch. The barrow was subsequently remodelled with the addition of material from groups of quarry pits around its circumference.

A probable round barrow was found in the centre of the Neolithic enclosure and was partly revealed by excavation at Flagstones by Wessex Archaeology in 1987-1988 in advance of the construction of the Dorchester By-pass. The full circuit has not been determined. The following description is abstracted from the final published report on the site (1). The numbers in square brackets refer to context numbers quoted in the report. Ring-ditch [00165] lay in the centre of the Neolithic enclosure and was only partly within the excavated area. It appeared to be set out around a central burial [00430] which contained the crouched inhumation of a young adult male beneath a large sarsen. The ring-ditch measured about 28m in diameter and was 0.75m deep with near vertical sides and a flat base. The chalk surface within the ring ditch survived 160mm higher than the external chalk level. This has been interpreted as a protected surface formerly covered by a barrow mound. The shape of the protected chalk surface suggests this was a bell barrow. Four clusters of intersecting pits were spaced around the outer edge of the ring-ditch. These were subcircular to ovoid in plan, bowl-shaped profile and up to 2m across and 0.75m deep. Two pits in the west cluster cut the chalk rubble fills of the ring-ditch. They were generally filled with chalk rubble with secondary fills above similar to those from the ring-ditch. Fairly large quantities of Bronze Age flint were found in these pit clusters, but was particularly concentrated in the north cluster. These pits are thought to have provided additional material for recovering or re-emphasising the barrow mound, perhaps indicating the application of a fresh covering of white chalk. The date of this activity is not known. This monument is dated by the early 2nd millennium BC radiocarbon date from the central burial (2130-1710 cal BC at 2 sigma: HAR-9159). The finds from the ring-ditch and quarry pits confirm the Bronze Age date for this monument. The ring- ditch contained a very large quantity of worked Bronze Age flint, a small quantity of Bronze Age grog tempered pottery and some animal bone. Three sherds of Bronze Age grog tempered pottery were recovered from the quarry pits. Molluscan evidence from the ring-ditch suggests that the immediate vicinity was arable during the period of silting up of the ditch, within a generally very open landscape.

Record last edited

Sep 30 2011 2:29AM