Drove Cottage Henge
Encyclopedia
Drove Cottage Henge is a Scheduled Ancient Monument
in the Priddy
parish of Somerset
, England. It is located 370 metres (1,213.9 ft) north of Drove Cottage. The site is a ceremonial Neolithic
location. Since this henge
is one of only around 80 henges throughout England, it is considered to be nationally important.
Jodie Lewis noted in 2005 that "Examples of southerly and north-north-westerly orientations, apropos Stockwood and Hunter's Lodge, are documented at other Class I henge sites, but are not common". Harding and Lee in 1987 said of it "HUNTERS LODGE, Priddy ST 559 498: Sub-oval enclosure, surviving as an earthwork, situated at the head of a shallow valley."
This whole site has become hard to see because repeated ploughing has heavily damaged the archaeological site, including the turf cover.
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
in the Priddy
Priddy
Priddy is a village in Somerset, England in the Mendip Hills, close to East Harptree and north-west of Wells. It is in the local government district of Mendip....
parish of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England. It is located 370 metres (1,213.9 ft) north of Drove Cottage. The site is a ceremonial Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
location. Since this henge
Henge
There are three related types of Neolithic earthwork which are all sometimes loosely called henges. The essential characteristic of all three types is that they feature a ring bank and ditch but with the ditch inside the bank rather than outside...
is one of only around 80 henges throughout England, it is considered to be nationally important.
Description
Drove Cottage Henge is situated in a valley. The bank circumscribing the henge is about 11.5 metres (37.7 ft) thick and 0.4 metres (1.3 ft) high, with a diameter of around 54 metres (177.2 ft) when measuring from the outsides of the banks. Just inside this bank is a ditch 6 metres (19.7 ft) wide and 0.3 metre (0.984251968503937 ft) deep, enclosing a circular central area about 19 metres (62.3 ft) in diameter. In the northern portion of this central area is a low-lying mound in front of the exit, which appears as a break in the outside bank.Jodie Lewis noted in 2005 that "Examples of southerly and north-north-westerly orientations, apropos Stockwood and Hunter's Lodge, are documented at other Class I henge sites, but are not common". Harding and Lee in 1987 said of it "HUNTERS LODGE, Priddy ST 559 498: Sub-oval enclosure, surviving as an earthwork, situated at the head of a shallow valley."
This whole site has become hard to see because repeated ploughing has heavily damaged the archaeological site, including the turf cover.