Rotherley Down Settlement is an archaeological site of the late
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
and
Romano-British
The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...
period on
Cranborne Chase
Cranborne Chase () is an area of central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. It is part of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
The area is dominated by, ...
, England. It is about south of
Berwick St John, and north of
Tollard Royal
Tollard Royal is a village and civil parish on Cranborne Chase, Wiltshire, England. The parish is on Wiltshire's southern boundary with Dorset and the village is southeast of the Dorset town of Shaftesbury, on the B3081 road between Shaftesbur ...
, in Wiltshire, near the boundary with Dorset. It is a
scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
.
Description
The site, on the brow of a hill at Rotherley Down, has an area of about .
[
]Augustus Pitt Rivers
Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers (14 April 18274 May 1900) was an English officer in the British Army, ethnologist, and archaeologist. He was noted for innovations in archaeological met ...
, inheritor of the Rushmore Estate, where he was resident from 1880, investigated many prehistoric monuments on his estate.[
The site was found to be similar to Woodcutts Settlement, which he had excavated earlier.][ It was occupied from the first century BC to the third century AD. There is a large circular enclosure within a bank and ditch, with storage pits inside. Nearby are banks and ditches, indicating the remains of houses, storage pits and enclosures. Particular features of a later phase, in the Roman period, have been discerned, including a corn drying oven, a large rectangular building, and a stock enclosure outside the main enclosure.][
A burial from the ]Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
was found, containing a crouched skeleton and a beaker. Stone implements from the Neolithic and Bronze Age were found.[
Bones from burials at the site from the main occupation period were measured, and were found to be smaller than those discovered elsewhere on Cranborne Chase; this suggested to Pitt Rivers that the inhabitants here were in "a lower condition of life". It has since been considered that the sample size was too small for the differences to be significant.]["Rotherley Roman Settlement"]
The Salisbury Museum. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
Excavations by Pitt Rivers
Other archaeological sites on Cranborne Chase excavated by Pitt Rivers include the Martin Down Enclosure, South Lodge Camp, Woodcutts Settlement and Wor Barrow.
References
{{Reflist
Scheduled monuments in Wiltshire
Archaeological sites in Wiltshire
Iron Age sites in England