Hengisbury Head Dorset

Hengistbury Head is a large headland that juts out into the Channel and forms an ideal site for the defence of Christchurch Harbour, an ancient trading spot, and the river that meanders into it from settlements near Salisbury. Although evidence of the occupation of Hengistbury Head has been found dating back through the Stone Age and Bronze Age, the first appearance of a defended settlement appears to date from the Iron Age in around 700 B.C. The 'Double Dyke' was constructed at this time, earthworks consisting of an inner bank three metres high, with a ditch three and a half metres deep, which barred access to the Head from the mainland. An outer ditch six metres wide and two metres in depth is now obscured due to wind-blown deposits of sand and a gradual silting process. These defences turned Hengistbury Head into a fortified settlement area which seems to have grown over succeeding centuries. It a a must visit when one in Dorset