Shearplace Hill Enclosure

The Shearplace Hill Enclosure is an archaeological site of the Bronze Age, about south-west of Cerne Abbas in Dorset, England. It is a scheduled monument.

Description

It is a Martin Down style enclosure, named after [Martin Down Enclosure|the Bronze Age Britain|Bronze Age enclosure on Martin Down in Hampshire]. Sites of this type, interpreted as domestic settlements, have mostly been found on downland of central southern England, usually situated on hillsides.
The site, covering about, is on a north facing slope of Shearplace Hill, which overlooks to the west the valley of Sydling Water. There is a series of banks, height up to, and sunken trackways up to deep.
There was excavation in 1958 by Philip Rahtz. He established that there was a farmstead of several enclosures, the principal enclosure containing two round houses; and that it was occupied from the Middle to Late Bronze Age, when it was abandoned. Finds included pottery of the Deverel–Rimbury culture, loom weights, flint scrapers and animal bones.