Monument record MDO7407 - Neolithic long barrow, Nine Barrows Down, Corfe Castle

A Neolithic long barrow situated on a chalk ridge on Nine Barrows Down, Corfe Castle. In 1970 this monument was recorded as around 112 feet long, 40 feet wide and 6 feet high at the southern end, dipping to 3 feet high at the northern end. Slight depressions along three sides may be traces of ditches. The long barrow is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs and is located adjacent to a group of seventeen Bronze Age round barrows (MDO7427-7442).

SY 99588151. Long Barrow on Ailwood Down, adjacent to the round barrow group (see SY 98 SE 5) lies along the contour of the chalk ridge and can only be seen in silhouette from the steep south slope. The barrow, orientated on a bearing of 97o, is about 112ft long and approx 40ft wide and 3ft high from the north and 6ft from the south. The sides are apparently parallel but are disturbed by old excavations. Slight depressions to the east, south and west, probably mark the original quarry ditches; a small round barrow seems to impinge on the ditch. <2> SY 99588151. A long, low eastern mound, now gorse-covered lies on an almost NW-SE axis along a slight slope. It measures 35.8m in length, up to 14.2m wide, 0.8m high on the north side and about 2.0m high on the downhill, south, side. A narrow shallow ditch evident around the eastern part of the mound cannot be traced around the western part. Two circular pits, 0.8m and 0.5m deep respectively, lie at the foot of the NW slope of the mound. Published 1:2500 survey revised. <5> The remains of a Neolithic long barrow on Ailwood Down. The barrow mound is composed of earth, flint and chalk and is 32 metres long, 12 metres wide and about 0.5 metres high. At the eastern end of the mound is an irregular depression from which material is likely to have been quarried for its construction. The barrow lies close to a Bronze Age round barrow cemetery (SY 98 SE 5). Scheduled. <7> A Neolithic long barrow, approximately 26m x 8.5m, is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs of Nine Barrows Down, Corfe Castle (2-3). It is located adjacent to a group of seventeen Bronze Age round barrows (MDO7427-7442). This feature was digitally plotted during the Wild Purbeck mapping project.

Record last edited

Mar 16 2023 10:57AM