Barkhale Camp

Barkhale Camp is a Neolithic causewayed enclosure, an archaeological site on the South Downs in West Sussex, England. It is about 1 mile (1.6 km) south-west of the village of Bignor.

Barkhale Camp
Shown within West Sussex
Locationnear Bignor, West Sussex
grid reference SU 976 126
Coordinates50°54′17″N 0°36′49″W
TypeCausewayed enclosure
History
PeriodsNeolithic
Designated7 April 1967
Reference no.1007880

The site is a scheduled monument.[1] It is on the Slindon Estate, which is a National Trust property.[2][3]

Description

Causewayed enclosures are found mostly in southern and eastern England; they have an area of 1–28 hectares (2–69 acres), and were constructed in the middle part of the Neolithic period, about 3000–2400 BC.[1]

Barkhale Camp is on a gentle south-facing slope of Bignor Hill. It is an oval enclosure, 220 metres (720 ft) north to south and 150 metres (490 ft) west to east, defined by a bank of width 10 metres (33 ft) and height up to 0.5 metres (1 ft 8 in). There is an external ditch, up to 4 metres (13 ft) wide; it is in sections of length 10–30 metres (33–98 ft), with causeways between them. The area within the enclosure is about 3 hectares (7.4 acres).[1][4]

There were small-scale excavations in 1958–1961 by Veronica Seton-Williams, and in 1978 by the Sussex Archaeological Field Unit; pottery sherds and flint tools of the Neolithic period, and pottery sherds of later periods, were found.[1][4]

References
  1. Historic England. "Barkhale Camp causewayed enclosure (1007880)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  2. "Barkhale Camp, Slindon Estate" National Trust. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  3. "Slindon Estate" National Trust. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  4. Historic England. "Barkhale Camp" PastScape. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
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