Warren Hill is the elevated part of

Hengistbury Head Hengistbury Head (), formerly also called Christchurch Head, is a headland jutting into the English Channel between Bournemouth and Mudeford in the English county of Dorset. It is a site of international importance in terms of its archaeolog ...

in Dorset, England, overlooking

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

to the North and dominating

Poole Bay Poole Bay is a bay in the English Channel, on the coast of Dorset in southern England, which stretches 16km from Sandbanks at the mouth of Poole Harbour in the west, to Hengistbury Head in the east. Poole Bay is a relatively shallow embayment ...

to the West. With finds stretching back over 10,000 years, it is a site of international importance in terms of its

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and is scheduled both as an

Ancient Monument An ancient monument can refer to any early or historical manmade structure or architecture. Certain ancient monuments are of cultural importance for nations and become symbols of international recognition, including the Baalbek, ruins of Baalbek ...

, and a Local Nature Reserve. The head and its surroundings form part of the

Christchurch Harbour Christchurch Harbour is a Harbor, natural harbour in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England named after the nearby town of Christchurch, Dorset, Christchurch. Two rivers, the River Avon, Hampshire, Avon and the River Stour, Dorset ...

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

. Wind-pruned hummocks of heather cover the

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

of the hill, which is accessible to walkers all year round providing excellent views of the surrounding area, as well as an interesting

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

for students of nature.

History

The Hengistbury Head site is archaeologically important and has been used by mankind for a long time stretching from the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

"The Archers of Hengistbury Head", Peter James, ''New Scientist'', 3 May 1984
/ref> to the present day where the site is visited by over a million people a year. Warren Hill has a variety of remains and features dating from around 10,000 BC until

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingd ...

. The hill's commanding view of the surroundings, coupled with an array of varied habitats nearby, provide the area with qualities appealing to both prehistoric and modern man. Ploughing of Warren Hill in 1913 revealed thousands of flint implements covering the entire

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

period. Of particular archaeological interest were several blades rarely seen in the UK outside of caves; such blades are typically found at Upper

sites across Europe, but open-air UK sites of such age are extremely rare. Further excavations identified over 600 tools, dominated by backed blades, endscrapers and burins. There are several barrow mounds on the hill that have been investigated previously, as well as traces of small defensive

trenches A trench is a type of excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches res ...

from the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.Bournemouth Council, Hengistbury Head Action plan, 2005, pdf. (Sect 3.1.11)
/ref> Much of the Head has been lost over the years due to the effects of sea, weather, and the removal of many "doggers" (

ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be c ...

boulders),Hengistbury Head Coastal Protection and Erosion
/ref> causing the loss of several

bloomery A bloomery is a type of metallurgical furnace once used widely for smelting iron from its iron oxides, oxides. The bloomery was the earliest form of smelter capable of smelting iron. Bloomeries produce a porous mass of iron and slag called ...

hearths and a

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

campsite.

Flora and fauna

Warren Hill provides an important

habitat covered by the

United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan The United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) was the UK government's response to the Convention on Biological Diversity, opened for signature at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. The UK was the first country to produce a national Biodiversi ...

. The hill immediately overlooks Withybed Wood, itself an important ecosystem and migratory point. Hengistbury Head was declared a Local Nature Reserve in 1990; the heathland in particular is designated as both a

Special Area of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

and a

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

, part of a network of the best wildlife sites in Europe.Bournemouth Council, Hengistbury Head Action plan, 2005, pdf.
/ref> The plateau is dominated by ling (common heather), with heather-bell found in the drier soils and

cross-leaved heath ''Erica tetralix'', the cross-leaved heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to western Europe. Description It is a perennial subshrub with glandular leaves in whorls of four (whence the name). Appearing in summe ...

in wetter areas. Dwarf

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are na ...

and

tormentil ''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 500 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. Potentillas may also be called cinquefoils in English, but they have also been called five finge ...

give the area a touch of extra colour.Hengistbury Head Nature Reserve. The Heath
/ref> Sundews,

carnivorous plants Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods, and occasionally small mammals and birds. They have adapted to grow in waterlo ...

that supplement their diet by trapping and devouring insects, can be observed in the boggy areas.

Meadow pipit The meadow pipit (''Anthus pratensis'') is a small passerine bird that breeds throughout much of the Palearctic, from south-eastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; ...

and

skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially ...

thrive there. There are typically five breeding pairs of skylark and nine pairs of meadow pipit as well as three pairs of

Dartford warbler The Dartford warbler (''Curruca undata'') is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe and northwestern Africa. It is a small warbler with a long thin tail and a thin pointed bill. The adult male has grey-brown upperparts and is d ...

. The area is home to the nocturnal violet ground beetle, and the powerful daytime predator, the green tiger beetle. Along with spiders, the beetles of Warren Hill provide visiting birds with a regular source of food. Exposed sandy areas attract burrowing sand wasps and other mining species such as the nationally scarce nomad bee, the large velvet ant and the

cuckoo bee The term cuckoo bee is used for a variety of different bee lineages which have evolved the kleptoparasitic behaviour of laying their eggs in the nests of other bees, reminiscent of the behavior of cuckoo birds. The name is perhaps best applied t ...

. The

adder ''Vipera berus'', also known as the common European adder Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. . and the common European viper, ...

and the

common lizard The viviparous lizard or common lizard (''Zootoca vivipara'', formerly ''Lacerta vivipara'') is a Eurasian lizard. It lives farther north than any other non-marine reptile species, and is named for the fact that it is viviparous, meaning it give ...

also have established populations up on the hill.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Website of the Christchurch Harbour Ornithological Group. Detailed information on birds (and other species) in the areaBournemouth Council, Hengistbury Head Action plan, 2005 (Sect 3.1.11 deals with Warren Hill)
Archaeological sites in Dorset Geography of Bournemouth History of Hampshire Stone Age sites in England Iron Age sites in England Headlands of Dorset Bronze Age sites in Dorset Hills of Dorset

History

Flora and fauna

See also

References

External links