- Hambledon Hill
Infobox Mountain
Name = Hambledon Hill
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Elevation = 143 m (469 ft)
Location =Blackmore Vale ,England
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Topographic
OS "Landranger" 194
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Grid_ref_UK = ST845126
Grid_ref_Ireland =
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Pronunciation =Hambledon Hill is a prehistoric
hill fort inDorset ,England , situated in theBlackmore Vale five miles north ofBlandford Forum . The hill is aChalk outcrop separated from theDorset Downs andCranborne Chase ridge by the River Stour.Its earliest occupation was in the
Neolithic when a pair ofcausewayed enclosure s were dug at the top of thehill , one smaller than the other. They were linked by a bank and ditch running north west- south east. Twolong barrow s, one 68 m in length, also stood within the complex and a third enclosure is now known to underlie later earthworks. In all, the area of activity covered more than 1 km². Excavations in the1970s and1980s byRoger Mercer produced large quantities of Neolithic material. Environmental analysis indicated the within the Neolithic earthworks.Radiocarbon analysis gives a date of2850 BC . At least oneskeleton , of a young man killed by anarrow was found, seemingly connected with the burning of the timber defences and suggesting at least one phase of violence. A singlegrape pip and aleaf fragment is evidence ofvine cultivation and the occupants seem to have traded with sites further to the south west.disposal of the dead and veneration of the ancestors with attendant feasting and social contact taking place in the smaller enclosure.
Little remains of the Neolithic activity and the site is more easily identified as a prime example of an
Iron age hill fort . It was originally univallate but further circuits of banks and ditches were added increasing its size to 125,000 m². Three entrances served the fort, the south western with a 100 m long hornwork surrounding it. Hut platforms can be seen on the hillside. The site appears to have been abandoned around 300 BC possibly in favour of the nearby site ofHod Hill .
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