Multi-period landscape on Hengistbury Head

Reasons for Designation

The extensive nature of the archaeological evidence from Hengistbury Head make this one of the best known case studies in British archaeology. With its wide variety of dates, settlement, industrial, agricultural, ritual, funerary, strategic, economic and trading activity, its overall importance cannot be over estimated. It has been extensively excavated, studied and documented with much academic discussion and has contributed significantly to archaeological understanding of all the areas represented which, given the incredible diversity both in terms of chronology and types of monument, is in itself extremely significant.

Details

The monument includes a multi-period landscape including settlement, ritual, funerary, agricultural, manufacturing, trading, quarrying and defence activity ranging from the Palaeolithic to the Victorian periods. It is situated on the coastal promontory of Hengistbury Head, overlooking Christchurch Harbour. The focus of extensive periods of excavation from the 19th century up until the 1980s, this landscape includes a huge variety of archaeological evidence surviving as either earthworks - including bowl barrows and linear boundaries- or buried features, structures and deposits with no visible surface remains - including settlements and industrial sites from the Palaeolithic to the Romano British periods. These are extensively discussed in various excavation reports and include at least twelve bowl barrows with a wide variety of cremations, pottery and other associated flints and grave goods; Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic settlement and flint production sites; Late Iron Age to Romano British settlement and industrial sites including defended settlements (a possible promontory fort, port and oppidum), glass, salt, iron, bronze, shale and silver working sites, agricultural activity in the form of plough marks, and evidence for extensive trading of commodities with the South West of England, Spain and France. There is even Victorian ironstone quarrying. Finds representing all the periods and classes of activity have been recovered together with significant quantities of dateable evidence.

Other archaeological remains in the vicinity are scheduled separately.

Sources: PastScape 884835, 884858, 884862, 858762, 458775,884843, 884854,458716, 458726, 458731, 458741, 458749, 458772, 1463895, 458744, 458767, 458754, 458641, 458736, 458759, 458711 and 458721

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

BO 824

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Print the official list entry