The Round Pound, an enclosure on Chaldon Down

Reasons for Designation

The Round Pound represents an enclosure characteristic of the Iron Age or Romano-British periods. Despite a relatively high location, this enclosure is unlikely to have been defensive in nature and its setting is more likely to relate to stock management, thereby reflecting the presence of the broadly contemporary field system which extends widely over the area to the south and west. No other similar enclosures have been identified within this part of Dorset. Despite some ploughing around the periphery, the Round Pound survives well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed. The enclosure is of an unusual form and represents a rare survival. The association of the enclosure with the nearby field system is important, as the two monuments are likely to preserve complimentary evidence for the agricultural exploitation of the Down in the late prehistoric period.

Details

The monument includes an enclosure, known as the Round Pound, situated on an elevated part of Chaldon Down, with panoramic views. The Round Pound lies within an area of a broadly contemporary field system, although ploughing has since reduced this into four separate blocks. The Round Pound was recorded by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England in 1970. It is defined by a bank composed of chalk and earth, with maximum dimensions of 14m in width and about 1.5m in height. The bank is surrounded by a ditch from which material was quarried during the construction of the monument. The ditch has become infilled over the years, but is known to survive as a buried feature 7.5m wide. The only identifiable entrance is situated to the south of the eastern corner and includes a gap 3m wide. It is uncertain whether this gap represents an original feature. The bank and ditch enclose a slightly dished area, sub-square in plan which covers about 0.6ha. The interior of the enclosure is higher than the surrounding ground. The only dating evidence from the site is a sherd of Iron Age pottery with finger-tip decoration. This was recovered from the western corner of the enclosure bank by The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England staff during survey work. Excluded from the scheduling are all fence posts relating to the modern field boundaries, although the ground beneath is included.

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:

29084

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 502
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 502
Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset: Volume I, (1970), 502

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