Digging!

I am working on a site near Dorchester, Dorset for three weeks, starting next Monday, and I will be blogging every day, if I am not too knackered! And pics too. This is what has been found so far. Looks Iron Age.

This example is larger, but it gives an idea of the type of settlement we may have here:

Course

My 'Grave Concerns' course is transposed to March 24th at the same location. I was ill over the holidays but ok now, so looking forward to doing the new course. Let me know if you are interested.

The Dorset Cursus

One of the lesser known monuments in Dorset is The Cursus, running from Thickthorn Down to Bokerley Down, at just over 10kl and is the longest example in the UK. It is an average of 80m wide. The ditches are flat based and 3m wide by 1m deep. It was constructed in two stages, 5.8kl from Thickthorn to Bottlebrush Down and accommodates the long barrow on Gussage Down. The Midwinter sun sets behind the mound and is silhouetted on the skyline when observed from the Bottlebrush terminal. The second phase extends NE and another barrow is built into the N bank of this section. Not much can be seen on the ground, but surviving sections are still visible at this point and Thickthorn Down.

William Stuckeley called these large parallel lengths of banks with external ditches by the Latin name of cursus because he thought they might be Roman athletic courses. We now place them in the Neolithic.

Internal features are rare and mostly confined to the terminus. It is thought that they were used as processional routes during rituals, and some have the remains of wooden circles and/or fires located at the ends. Finds of arrowheads suggest hunting connections to some archaeologists, where young men (?) 'prove' themselves on their journey to adulthood.

Crop mark of the cursus terminal with long barrow

The structure will march across the terrain regardless of the landscape, with this example crossing a river and three valleys.

Marked crossing Wyke Down

As usual there can be no definitive answer to the function of cursus monuments, but they are some of the largest and most overlooked ancient structures in the UK.

'Grave Concerns'

My course is starting on the 20th January, 7pm at the Bridport Quaker Meeting House, South Street for 10 weeks (£10 per session). We will be looking at burial and ritual across Europe and Britain.

Look forward to seeing you there.