Damerham Archaeology Project

Discovering Damerham: Prospecting New Sites in West Hampshire

Cranborne Chase is one of the most famous later prehistoric landscapes in Europe. Yet new discoveries continue to come to light in this well known area, extending knowledge of prehistory in exciting new directions. In 2003 aerial survey by Martyn Barber revealed an extraordinary complex of cropmarks close to the Chase at Damerham in the far west of Hampshire. The cropmarks focus on a circular enclosure (57m dia.) defined by a substantial ditch 5m across. Surrounding and to the south east of the enclosure are at least 26 ring ditches and barrows. Among these are two sets of conjoined ring ditches - one set containing circular post settings. An oval ditch nearby suggests the remains of a Neolithic oval barrow or mortuary enclosure. At the south east edge of the complex is a long mound (78m long) flanked by two ditches, to the north a prehistoric field system. Many of these sites seem likely to prove Neolithic or Bronze Age in date. The long mound suggests an Early Neolithic date, while the circular enclosure is comparable with Late Neolithic henges excavated at nearby Knowlton. Unfortunately these remarkable remains are suffering plough damage, which is progressively eroding the archaeological deposits.

'Discovering Damerham' aims to:

  1. confirm the presence and refine detail of the cropmark sites
  2. compare results of aerial reconnaissance with geophysical techniques
  3. discover new components that may be invisible beneath unploughed fields adjacent to cropmark areas
  4. recover and map datable material which may be present on the surface

Specialists involved include Martyn Barber (EH aerial survey), Olaf Bayer (University of Central Lancaster, lithics, fieldwalking), Chris Carey (University of Birmingham, geophysics, spatial modelling), and, Helen Wickstead (project and report co-ordination).

It is envisaged that the project will take place over three years. Grants from various sources are being sought to initiate the first stage of the research taking place in 2008. The aims of this first stage are to:

  1. test the potential of geophysical survey.
  2. investigate fieldwalking potential
  3. target areas for future work.

Detail of AP transcription

Geophysical survey will focus on the large circular enclosure, conjoined ring ditches with post circles, and the long mound. Two areas of land currently under grass will also be surveyed. Geophysical methods will comprise resistivity and gradiometer survey. Data will be enhanced through spatial modelling, which can be used to identify continuities between the results of different prospection techniques.

Ongoing work in the Stonehenge landscape is guided by a particular view of the dynamics of later prehistoric landscapes (Parker Pearson et al 2004). Alternative models have been proposed for the articulation of Neolithic sites on Cranborne Chase (Tilley 1994). Damerham is an opportunity to re-examine landscape dynamics through cropmark data. The Damerham monument complex has a significant location. It is situated in the Avon valley among the Neolithic and Bronze Age sites between the Stonehenge complex and the sea. It also connects the Avon valley to the Stour valley and Cranborne Chase. Research at this location will complement new findings from the Stonehenge Riverside Project (see Pollard et al 2007), testing and extending emerging models of landscape dynamics.

References

Parker Pearson, Mike, Josh Pollard, Chris Tilley, Julian Thomas, Colin Richards, Kate Welham, Umberto Albarella, Mike Allen, Ros Cleal, Chris Knusel, Helen Lewis, Neil Linford, Andrew Payne, Rob Scaife and Armin Schmidt (2004) Stonehenge Riverside Project 2004 Interim Report

Tilley, Chris (1994) A Phenomenology of Landscape

Pollard, Joshua, Robinson, David and Wickstead, Helen (2007) South of Woodhenge: an interim report on the 2007 excavations