More information : (SY 82428077 - SY 84808021) Dyke (NR) (1)
Iron Age Earthworks, on Bindon Hill and near West Lulworth
village (SY 82227992-SY 84808021). The main defences, a bank and
ditch facing N., 1 3/5 miles long, were apparently intended to
enclose an area of about 400 acres including Lulworth Cove, the
coastal shelf and the hog-backed chalk hill, 560 ft. high. At a
later stage a N. to S. bank (c) was commenced which, with a
terrace above Lulworth Cove probably indicating an incomplete
ditch, enclosed the western 24 acres of Bindon Hill. Thirdly a
cross-ridge dyke (b) was made to cut off 12 acres at the W. tip
of the hill. Both the main defences and these subsidiary
earthworks are probably unfinished. Their form suggests that
different gangs worked simultaneously. There is little doubt that
all were built by people of the Iron Age 'A' culture, although
only small portions have been excavated (for R.C.H.M. in 1950,
see R. E. M. Wheeler, Ant.J. XXXIII (1953), 1-13).
The situation and arrangement of the earthworks suggest that they
were the work of immigrants. The main defences, which have an
entrance like that of a hill-fort, face inland covering the good
natural harbour of Lulworth Cove. A stream runs into the Cove
from the W. through a sheltered valley, and the undulating
coastal shelf E. of the Cove is fertile. 'Celtic' fields on the
N. slope of Bindon Hill, are probably later than the earthworks,
which they only adjoin at one point W. of the entrance. The
hill-fort of Flower's Barrow (SY 88 SE 1) is 1 mile to the E.
but there is no evidence that the Bindon earthworks were ever
linked to it, as suggested by Warne (Ancient Dorset, 41-2, 64).
Between the two, on the cliff edge 1170 yds. E. of Cockpit Head,
is a slight terrace, possibly a length of ditch, but even if this
is ancient it is much more likely to have been related to an
independent enclosure.
In the 13th century A.D. both the 'dike of Julius Caesar' on
Bindon Hill and the 'dike to Starhole (Stairhole)' were
recognised as boundaries (P.R.O., Calendar of Charter Rolls,
II, 2116-7). In 1770 hedges apparently ran along the cross-dyke,
and along the main rampart between the cross-dyke and the
entrance and for almost 1/4 mile E. of the entrance to a point
from which there are traces of a bank running S. (J. Sparrow,
Map of Weld Estate (1770), in D.C.R.O.). All the earthworks are
now under grass and the eastern two-thirds of Bindon Hill is in a
firing range. Only 4 acres of the ridge-top immediately E. of
the cross-dyke seem ever to have been ploughed, but on the
coastal shelf any traces of Iron Age occupation or fields have
been obliterated by ploughing, much of it in the 19th century.
The main defences. At the extreme W. a bank and ditch runs N.N.E
for 300 ft. from a crumbled area on the cliff edge above
Stairhole. The bank, about 35 ft. wide and 2 ft. high is
separated by a very marked berm 18ft. across from the ditch which
is 35 ft. wide and 3 ft. deep. The berm perhaps indicates lack of
finish. This stretch is much disturbed on the miniature golf
course.
N.E. of the village a bank and ditch continues the same line up
the steep slope of as much as 25 degrees. The ditch is larger
than in the previous length and there is no berm (see profile
FF). Complete breaks in the line indicate that the work is
unfinished especially N.E. of FF (ef. cross-dyke (b)), and it
ends in an isolated mound-like fragment (a).
From this point irregular earthworks run N. and then E. along the
hill-top to the cross-dyke. They seem to belong to a univallate
defence, apparently unfinished. This is clearly shown at the N.W.
angle and further E. (profiles GG, HH), where a small bank rises
above a scarp and a small ditch. In places the bank is set back
leaving a berm while the ditch is interrupted by several
original causeways. Behind the bank is a series of dumps forming
a very irregular inner bank which is met by the cross-dyke at a
point where a hedge (shown on the 1770 map) crosses the
earthwork from the N. Irregular quarrying occurs uphill from the
line of dumps.
Between the cross-dyke and the inturned entrance the irregular
inner bank is smaller and set a little farther northwards. Its
inside face is very steep and outside it is a shelf, in some
places with a berm instead of an outer bank (profile KK). The
ditch varies in form and size. Cross-bank (c) butts against the
inner bank, crossing the small quarry pits behind it.
The entrance is a gap 50 ft. wide between banks projecting
internally for 60 ft. and converging slightly at their S. ends.
Although these do not look unfinished, excavation produced no
sign of a gate and only an incomplete pattern of post-holes. A
terrace-way which approaches the entrance from the N.E. and cuts
through its N.W. angle is unlikely to be original.
The defences to the E. of the entrance at first appear smoother
and less disjointed, although the bank is small and varies in
height, while a berm is only visible in places. Further E.,
however, there are considerable variations for long stretches.
Near round barrow W. Lulworth sporadic inner quarry pits are
replaced by a sharply-defined, flat-bottomed inner 'ditch', 10ft.
across, behind a bank only 10 ft. wide set on the lip of the
outer ditch. Along the bottom of the 'ditch' runs a slight bank
and ditch which could be a marking-out feature. S. of the 'ditch'
a scarp rises at most 2 ft. to a very slight inner bank. For
about 1/4 mile E. of barrow there are fairly continuous quarry
pits and, 216 yds. further E., the outer ditch comes to a
positive end N.N.E. of barrow (Thereafter for the final 750 yds.
to Cockpit Head there is only a slight bank with an inner 'ditch'
and occasional quarry pits on either side.
Structural and dating evidence mainly came from a cutting across
the defences 50 ft. E. of the entrance at (BIN 2). A palisade
trench 2 ft. wide dug 2 ft. deep into the chalk 20 ft. N. of the
present outer crest of the rampart had been deliberately
re-filled and was sealed with turves, presumably before the other
defenses were constructed. A very small marking-out bank about 11
ft. behind this was followed, approximately, by a line of
post-holes, each about 5 ins. across, irregularly placed but
clearly representing the principals of a revetment (of which a
section was experimentally reconstructed by the excavator). This
was probably the outer face of a rampart no more than 12 ft.
across (from the position of the slight quarry ditch behind it)
and perhaps 6 ft. high in a final stage. The general aspect of
the bank as a whole is unfinished, the two 'peaks' in the
excavated section perhaps comparable with those in surface
profiles GG, HH. The excavator suggested an uncompleted
intention to build a typical Iron Age 'A' boxed rampart a further
12 ft. across in front of this, to be contained by another
revetment rising from the palisade trench. Alternatively this
palisade was free-standing and preceded a hill-fort type
structure. A sharp scarp drops immediately from outside the
palisade trench for some 9 ft. to a ditch only 3 ft. in total
depth from the top of the present slight grass-covered
counterscarp bank.
The dating material, from (BIN 2), comprised numerous sherds
found in and beneath the present bank. Most were from 'coarse
situlate pots with finger-tip decoration round the rim and/or
shoulder'. The firmness of the shoulder was thought to indicate
an early phase in the development of this Iron Age 'A' style.
There were also occasional fragments of 'bowls with S-profile'.
There was no haematite coating. Wheeler suggested a comparison
with pottery from Scarborough (now Hawkes's Eastern First A) but
regional distinctions and the relatively drab range of finds make
close attribution virtually impossible.
Subsidiary earthworks. At the W. end of the hill unfinished defences run S.E. from (a) and were perhaps connected with similar remains running W. from the S. end of (c). They consist of a terrace about 12 ft. wide with small quarry scoops to the N. and a scarp about 1 1/2 ft. high to the S.
The cross-ridge dyke (b) is 220 yds. long and relatively massive.
Its bank is up to 5 ft. high and the ditch to the E. is 5 ft.
deep, both irregular and demonstrably unfinished. A low
marking-out bank 10 ft. across lies on the intervening berm, and
one break in it, corresponding with the southern of three gaps
in the dyke, suggests the position of an entrance. The dyke is
marked out to the present cliff edge above Lulworth Cove.
The cross-bank (c) is 180 yds. long and very disturbed. It is 35
ft. wide and very low with no apparent ditch, although there are
signs of hollowing on both sides. It is broken by a gap N.
of barrow), and at the S. it ends slightly beyond the point
where a terrace runs up to it from the W. leaving a narrow
original gap. This terrace is comparable with that farther W. and
is perhaps a part of the same scheme.
Of other earthworks detectable in the interior, only a probable
hut-platform (d), circular and about 20 ft. across, on the N.
shoulder of the ridge 800 yds. E. of the entrance, is likely to
be contemporary. The round barrows, West Lulworth ( ), are all
earlier than the Iron Age, and enclosure (3), which butts against
the rampart 500 ft. E. of the entrance, is probably fairly
recent. It is rectangular, 170 ft. by 150 ft. with a very slight
bank and an external ditch which has been recently recut; there
are fragments of brick inside it. A low bank of indeterminate age
runs W. for 150 yds. from the cross-ridge dyke, S. of EE. It is
10 ft. across and 1 ft. high with a ditch 4 ft. wide and 9 ins.
deep to the S. (2)
(Circa SY 83658032) A new cable trench was dug across Bindon Hill
earthworks in 1977 and revealed that the rampart of the outer
defences had a maximum height of 1.15m, constructed directly on
chalk bedrock. The outer ditch was 1.40m deep with a maximum
width of 3.5m. No evidence of a counterscarp bank and no finds
recover ed from the trench. (3)
SY 835803. Bindon Hill camp. Scheduled. (4)
Bindon Hill earthworks represent a vast I.A. defensive enclosure
complex, clearly unfinished, with a 'hillfort in similar
condition incorporated at the west end.
Generally both are as described by auth'y 2, though the outwork
at Stairhole, SY 822799, has been shortened by a cliff fall.
It is notable that, except for some 400m. immediately east of the
entrance, 1400m. of the internal quarry ditch for the rampart is
well defined and cleanly cut. On the sheltered north slope above
the ditch nearly 30 scooped depressions occur at irregular
intervals. They range from 4.5m. to 14m. in diameter but normally
about 8m. and are cut back to a depth of between 0.2m. and 0.7m.
A few are set 10m. from the ditch but most open almost to the
lip but never break the line or intrude upon the ditch. It seems
unlikely that they are quarrying for the rampart since there is
no additional dumping and they are best explained as hut
platforms.
The outer ditch, 10m. to 15m. below the rampart is mostly merely
a terrace which peters out 1400m. east of the entrance as a
series of widely spaced alignment scoops extending in all for
200m. (See 1:2500 plan also ground photographs).
Survey at 1:2500 on M.S.D. (5)
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