Monument record MDO7654 - Iron Age hillfort, Flower's Barrow, East Lulworth

Earthwork remains of an Iron Age hillfort and cross ridge dyke (MDO7655) which probably formed an outwork to the fort. The site was probably originally univallate before being strengthened with extra defences. The remains of this hillfort are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs and Lidar imagery.

Flowers Barrow (NAT) Hill Fort (NR) (1) Flowers Barrow (SY 864805) is a hill-fort situated between 460ft and 567ft above O.D. on the cliff edge at the extreme W end of the Purbeck Hills, known here (because of the hill-fort) as Rings Hill. The subsoil is Upper Chalk with out-cropping sands and clays of the Corallian Beds. Probably a third or more of the original hill-fort has collapsed seaward as a result of coastal erosion, which had already taken place by 1744 (note by Edward Weld in DCRO). There remain three sides of an enclosure with two main banks and ditches and an original entrance to the SE. The whole earthwork covers about 15 1/2 acres. Occupation platforms are visible along the N-facing slope of the interior. The ground falls away very steeply on the W, N and SE but only very gently along the ridge to the E where, 180 yds away, a dyke (41) spans three-quarters of the ridge top. The present earthwork is clearly the product of at least two main phases of construction. The inner enclosure, still 6 acres in area, has a rampart up to 30ft wide and in places 30ft high above its present ditch bottom and, inside it, a broad quarry ditch which is not, however, continued S of the entrance. The end of the rampart N of the original entrance gap is slightly inturned. A counterscarp bank lies immediately beyond the main ditch on the W and N but not on the E. At the NW angle of the inner enclosure the counterscarp bank is met by the main outer rampart, but a later broad track has been cut through at this point. The outer rampart is separated from the counterscarp bank on the N side by a berm of uneven width averaging 15ft to 20ft, except at the NE corner where a bend in the outer rampart reduces it to 6ft. The space between ramparts increases to 100ft on the W. Within this area on the E is a stretch 200ft long of low uneven bank following the alignment of the ramparts and situated mid-way between the inner ditch and the outer rampart. It has no visible ditch and its origin is uncertain. On the steep slope to the NW the outer rampart is scarcely more than a scarp, rising some 33ft above its ditch bottom, but on the more level ground behind it and 20ft above the ditch bottom. On the SE this rampart curves towards the cliff edge and opposite the inner entrance is a gap, probably a mutilated original entrance, facing SE. The interior of Flower's Barrow rises gently to the E and S, on which side nearly half of the remaining area has subsided to a maximum of 12ft behind the main cliff fall. A dozen or so roughly elliptical platforms are traceable in the N half, concentrated towards the E. These have been levelled 2ft or 3ft into the slope and can probably be regarded as hut sites or working areas). There is now no surface indication of pits but one was excavated in 1939. It lay some 30yds inside the entrance and measured about 3ft in all directions; it produced bone refuse, a few sling-stones and about 60 sherds `all probably of Iron Age 'B'...' (J. B. Calkin, Dorset Procs. LXX (1948), 44). In the early 19th century a `skeleton, said to be of abnormal length, was discovered just beneath the surface of the inner rampart'. (J. F. Pennie, The Tale of a Modern Genius (1827), II, 85). The remains suggest a development from a simple univallate fort to a larger and stronger structure. The Phase I fort comprised either (a) the present inner rampart on the W and E and the outer rampart on the N or (b) the present inner rampart on the E and the outer on the N and W. Both theories depend on the bend in the N side of the outer rampart near its NE corner and the corresponding very sharp angle of the NE corner of the inner rampart. That the original rampart probably became part of the present outer rampart on the N side is explained by the very steep slope here. For the possible relationship of the hill-fort to 'Celtic' fields see Ancient Field Group (17). Cross-ridge dyke (41), on the ridge 180 yds E of the hill-fort, probably an outwork. It runs parallel to the E ramparts for nearly 300ft, beginning a little below the edge of the steep slope on the S, but ending some 80ft short of the edge of the less steep N slope, with no indication that it ever continued further N. As it is unbroken by any original cut, traffic must have passed round it on the N side, where there is now a terraced approach track. Where best preserved the bank of the dyke is 20ft wide at its base and stands 2 1/2ft above the ground on the W and 5ft above its ditch, which is approximately 15ft wide at the lip. (R.A.F. V.A.P. CPE/UK, 1821:5427.) (1-2) SY 863805 Flower's Barrow camp. (3)The hill fort is generally as described by authority (2), though the broad inner quarry ditch is visible around most of the inner enclosure, (see plan), and the west and south-east parts of the outer. The bank between the ramparts on the east is visible over 94m (possibly a pre-existing cross-ridge dyke?). Revised at 1:2500 on M.S.D. (4) A few Early Iron Age sherds were collected from the hill-fort interior from land slip exposures. A characteristic slightly everted rim similar to sherds from Bindon Hill (SY 88 SW 2) was found on calcined flint above a small pit, probably a hearth. (5) A silver Durotrigian stater, (Mach 317), was found in Flower's Barrow. (6) The remains of this hillfort are visible as earthworks on aerial photographs (7-8) and Lidar imagery (9). These features were digitally plotted during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset).

Record last edited

Feb 5 2024 12:45PM