piggottbx29im043.tif  

{- Per J Crawford on HEIRtagger: "This is Knowlton church, 12th century. Situated at the centre of a "Neolithic Henge" (according to Wikipedia). I can't find any associated reference to "Lambourne" (see caption). Maybe "Lambourne" is a conflation: this church is very close to a road called Lumber Lane, and there are nearby villages which include the word "Wimborne" or "Wimbourne" in their names. The nearest town is Wimborne Minster, often referred to as Wimborne." -} Knowlton Circles = cluster of neolithic/B.Age henges and round barrows; 4 enclosures 3 of which are henge form (Church Circle, Knowlton N and S) and 4th is square ish (Old Churchyard) plus round barrow (Great Barrow) Church henge best preserved = oval enclsure (106m x 94m) surrounded by ditch (10m wide/1m deep) and earthwork (10m wide/1m deep) with 3 gaps; church in centre = transition form pagan/Christian ?; A/S inhumation cemetary to east; North Circle - visible as cropark only = elongated oval ditch/bank - 94m diam; South Circle = largest - visible as cropmark/earthwork - max.diam 250m - ditch (15m wide) outer bank and berm; Old Church = cropmark- rounded square = 60m diam; Great Barrow - largest barrow in Dorset - 40m diam/6m high, 2 concentric ditches; Knowlton Circle Barrow Group = important religious centre. (P.Day)