Project Consultant : Christine Shaw
The location of the Ancient Farm on Hampshire [UK] County Council land in what is now the Queen Elizabeth Country Park was not just a happy accident. The County Archaeologist of the day was a member of the founding Committee. It was well known that the location had evidence of Celtic Field Systems.
The two slides given here were taken just when they were most dramatically brought out by a snow fall. They show just how fully the slopes of Butser Hill were farmed .... intensively might well be a fair description. This was part of the reasoning used by Reynolds to argue that this region was highly populous. The final point was that the original Research Site on Little Butser showed evidence of use, even though on an inhospitable north-facing spur with thin depleted soil.
The above picture shows some of the slopes of Butser Hill to the west of the A3(M) to London, which is on the far right. These slopes are roughly northwards of the BAFDA site, the public demonstration area set up when the Queen Elizabeth Country Park was opened. The Little Butser Research Site was over the top of the hill, just left of centre. The entire boundary system comprises Celtic Fields. With no snow covering the boundaries are only apparent in low angle light.
This view of the top of Butser Hill illustrates further Celtic Field boundaries can be located from the relationship with the modern road cutting to the bottom left. This cutting is beyond the view above and on the Petersfield side of the Hill, looking back towards the direction of BAFDA. Little Butser is off to the right, almost behind the viewer.
The whole area around and including Butser Hill was extensively surveyed by Stuart Piggott, [Investigator, Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire] and published in Antiquity 1930 pp 187-200, notwithstanding this site being well outside his official region of responsibility!! His drawing for the Earthworks of Butser Hill, below, allows all the BAF sites and these photographs to be put in relative location. His article also includes three [Plates I to III] early aerial photographs, one in snow, showing the earthworks and field systems, taken by the Air Council [Crown Copyright reserved]. The historian will wryly note the presumption in 1930 that it is the [British] Air Council !!
This is a copy of a copy etc. and the "originating" copy for this scan is skewed. Little Butser is shown centre far right. The radio mast in the modern photographs is roughly centre stage below the title Butser Hill, as best judged without a site survey. The BAFDA site is just off the left edge of this drawing. The ditch and bank is the short vestige immediately left of the title Butser Hill. The lynchet system would have been photographed on an alignment roughly paralle to the road shown. The line of the modern dual carriageway was not drastically altered from that shown. The direction of London is shown below the road, centrally, to the right of the cutting.
Created 12 April 2008 - Updated 12 April 2008