Monument record MDO2810 - High Cank, Up Cerne

An earthwork in the form of a ditch two metres wide and up to 0.4m deep with an outer bank enclosing a circular area around 10 metres in diameter with an entrance and causeway on the eastern side. The bank is composed of flint nodules; it measures about 3 metres across and up to 0.4m high. Thought to be a Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age hengiform monument.and/or funerary monument. Traces of a slight mound have been recorded in the central area but all that is visible now is a depression, possibly the result of excavation, surrounded by dumps of upcast soil. In the past this monument has also been interpreted as a possible round barrow.

Resembles a disc barrow, having the bank on the outside of the ditch and traces of something resembling a disturbed mound in the centre. There is a well defined causeway at east, 8 feet wide. The central mound has a deep hollow in the centre. An old countryman told Leslie Grinsell that the local belief was that it was used for bull fights. <2> The name 'High Cank' is still applied to this earthwork which comprises a circular platform at natural ground level, a ditch and outer bank. On the east side there is a break in the outer bank with a corresponding causeway across the ditch. The platform is 8.0m in diameter and no longer has a clearly defined central mound but simply an excavation hollow, 2.0m in diameter and 0.2m deep with a slight rim of upcast. The ditch is 2.0m wide and 0.2m deep with the outer bank 3.0m wide and 0.3m high. Although surrounded by arable the earthwork remains in good condition. This hengiform work belongs to a class with a wide distribution in North Scotland and Wales. The small dimensions suggest a burial rather than a ritual/ceremonial purpose. Surveyed at 1:2500. <4>

Record last edited

Mar 20 2023 3:00PM