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 archaeology ...

in Dorset, England, overlooking

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

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 a ...

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 scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

and is scheduled both as an

Ancient Monument In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The '' Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 197 ...

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

Christchurch Harbour Christchurch Harbour is a natural harbour in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England named after the nearby town of Christchurch. Two rivers, the Avon and the Stour, flow into the Harbour at its northwest corner. The harbour is g ...

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 of ...

. Wind-pruned hummocks of heather cover the

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), 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. Often one or more sides ha ...

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 characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

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 (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

"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 refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the 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 Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

. 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 prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

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 in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from erosi ...

from the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.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 con ...

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 oxides. The bloomery was the earliest form of smelter capable of smelting iron. Bloomeries produce a porous mass of iron and slag called a ''bloom ...

hearths and a

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (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 is often used synonymous ...

campsite.

Flora and fauna

Warren Hill provides an important

habitat covered by the

United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan The United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan or (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 cert ...

, 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 Ling may refer to: Fictional characters * Ling, an ally of James Bond's from the film ''You Only Live Twice'' * Ling, a character in the ''Mulan'' franchise * Ling, a playable character from the mobile game '' Mobile Legends: Bang Bang'' * 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, from southern Portugal to central Norway, as well as a number of boggy regions further from the coast in Central Europ ...

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 n ...

and

tormentil ''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 300Guillén, A., et al. (2005)Reproductive biology of the Iberian species of ''Potentilla'' L. (Rosaceae).''Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid'' 1(62) 9–21. species of annual, biennial and perenni ...

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. Carnivorous plants still generate some of their energy from photosynthesis. Ca ...

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, which breeds in much of the Palearctic, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; an isol ...

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. Further, at least two additional species are ...

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 kleptoparasitism, kleptoparasitic behaviour of laying their eggs in the nests of other bees, reminiscent of the behavior of cuckoo birds. The name is perhap ...

. The adder 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 species of non-marine reptile, and is named for the fact that it is viviparous, meaning it ...

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