Archaeological sites · South East England
Cranborne Chase
Cranborne Chase — Plateau in southern England.
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Wikimedia Commons licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 45 min–1.5 h
- Free entry
- Dog-friendly
About
Cranborne Chase is an archaeological site in the United Kingdom. Heritage designation: International Dark Sky Reserve. Wikidata describes it as: "Plateau in southern England". Coordinates: 50.9614°, -2.0441°.
Photo gallery
Protected designations
- Site of Special Scientific Interest: River Avon System SSSI
- Site of Special Scientific Interest: Cranborne Chase SSSI
- Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Cranborne Chase & West Wiltshire Downs
Designations sourced from Natural England open data under OGL v3.
From the Wikipedia article
Cranborne Chase (grid reference ST970180) is an area of central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. It is part of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The area is dominated by, and often considered to be synonymous with, a chalk downland plateau. Part of the English Chalk Formation, it is adjacent to Salisbury Plain and the West Wiltshire Downs in the north, and the Dorset Downs to the south west. The highest point is Win Green Down, in Wiltshire, at 910 feet (280 m). Historically a medieval hunting forest, the area is also noted for its Neolithic and Bronze age archaeology and its rural agricultural character.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
History
hill fort]] The downland has a long history with many earthworks and archaeology from the Neolithic age onwards. The dense woodland originally covering the downs would have gradually been cleared by the first farmers, but would have grown back repeatedly over the centuries as soils became exhausted and the agricultural carrying capacity of the land was exceeded several times over the course of six millennia. Much of the area therefore remained wooded from the Middle Ages until World War II. Analysis of remains found in some of the Bronze Age burial mounds, by experts at Bournemouth University, has revealed that many of the bones had small holes drilled in then, enabling them, it is…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 50.9614, -2.0441
- District
- Dorset
- Parish
- Sixpenny Handley and Pentridge
- Postcode
- SP5 5RW
- Parliamentary constituency
- North Dorset
Sources
- wikidata: Q5181922 (CC0)
- wikipedia: Cranborne Chase (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Cranborne Chase?
- Cranborne Chase is in South-East England, United Kingdom (postcode SP5 5RW), in the parish of Sixpenny Handley and Pentridge.
- Is Cranborne Chase a listed building?
- Cranborne Chase is officially recognised as International Dark Sky Reserve listed.
- Is Cranborne Chase a protected site?
- Yes — Cranborne Chase is part of the River Avon System SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest and the Cranborne Chase SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest.
- How do I get to Cranborne Chase?
- Drivers can navigate to postcode SP5 5RW. It sits within the North Dorset parliamentary constituency.