Location Somerset, England Designated April 8, 1997 | Area Mendip Hills Reference no. 29764 | |
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Built During the Neolithic Period Architectural style(s) British pre-Roman Architecture Similar Banwell Caves, Pen Hill, Mendip Hills, King John's Hunting Lodge - A, Black Down - Somerset | ||
Drove Cottage Henge (sometimes called Hunter's Lodge Henge) is a Scheduled Ancient Monument in the Priddy parish of Somerset, England. It is located 370 metres (1,210 ft) north of Drove Cottage. The site is a ceremonial Neolithic location. Since this henge is one of only around 80 henges throughout England, it is considered to be nationally important.
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Description
Drove Cottage Henge is situated in a valley. The bank circumscribing the henge is about 11.5 metres (38 ft) thick and .4 metres (1.3 ft) high, with a diameter of around 54 metres (177 ft) when measuring from the outsides of the banks. Just inside this bank is a ditch 6 metres (20 ft) wide and .3 metres (0.98 ft) deep, enclosing a circular central area about 19 metres (62 ft) in diameter. In the northern portion of this central area is a low-lying mound in front of the exit, which appears as a break in the outside bank.
Jodie Lewis noted in 2005 that "Examples of southerly and north-north-westerly orientations, apropos Stockwood and Hunter's Lodge, are documented at other Class I henge sites, but are not common". Harding and Lee in 1987 said of it "HUNTERS LODGE, Priddy ST 559 498: Sub-oval enclosure, surviving as an earthwork, situated at the head of a shallow valley."
This whole site has become hard to see because repeated ploughing has heavily damaged the archaeological site, including the turf cover.
Nearby archaeological sites
Four barrows are relatively close to Drove Cottage Henge. One is a disc barrow and a Scheduled Ancient Monument (designation #13840). Another is a bowl barrow and a Scheduled Ancient Monument (designation #13871). Another, also a bowl barrow, is a Scheduled Ancient Monument (designation #13872). The final barrow is probably a bowl barrow, but it may be a spoil dump. It too is a Scheduled Ancient Monument (designation #13873).