Hengi-form monument at Red Hill

Reasons for Designation

Hengi-form monuments are ritual or ceremonial centres closely connected with burial and dating to the Middle and Late Neolithic periods (3000-2000 BC). They were constructed as flat, roughly circular enclosures comprising an area of ground typically between 5m and 20m across enclosed by a ditch with external bank. One entrance or two opposing entrances through the earthwork provided access to the interior of the monument which often contained pits, cremation pits, postholes and graves. Cremation pits and postholes were often present around the perimeter of the site. They are distinguished from standard henges by their small size and their more specific association with burial. Finds from the ditches and interiors of hengi-form monuments provide important evidence for the chronological development of the sites, the types of activity that occurred within them and the nature of the environment in which they were constructed. Most examples are situated on gravel terraces or on hill slopes. They sometimes occur in pairs or groups of three in close proximity. Hengi- form monuments are very rare nationally with only 24 examples known, although this is likely to be an underestimate in view of the difficulties in recognition. As one of the few types of identified Neolithic structures and in view of their rarity, all hengi-form monuments are considered to be of national importance.

Despite some disturbance caused by quarrying, the hengi-form monument at Red Hill survives comparatively well. It is the only known example of its type in Surrey and contains archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument, its use and the landscape in which it was constructed.

Details

The monument includes an oval enclosure, 40m long by 35m across, identified as a hengi-form monument, situated on the crest of a rise in an area of undulating Greensand. The enclosure has a flat interior, which is slightly lower than the surrounding ground level, 19m long and 15m wide and defined by a bank and inner ditch. The ditch, although partially infilled, survives 5m wide and 0.5m deep while the bank is 4.5m wide and up to 0.5m high. The entrance to the enclosure, situated in the north-eastern quadrant, is no longer visible as this area has been disturbed by later quarrying activity. Remote sensing surveys carried out since the 1970s have located a number of anomalies in the interior of the enclosure which have been interpreted as possible graves.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

23005

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
Dyer, S P, 3309, (1991)

End of official list entry

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