Duncliffe Hill

Description

Duncliffe Hill rises from the surrounding lowland about 2 miles west of Shaftesbury in the Blackmore Vale and is visible miles away in Wiltshire and Somerset. It is a gently conical hill with a double summit. The slopes are covered by Duncliffe Wood on three sides, but are open to the north. The woods are managed by the Woodland Trust. There are several trails through the woods, some leading to the summit where there is a trig point. The wood is a bird reserve. The A30 main road passes by the foot of the hill to the north.

Geology

The geology of the hill is heavy Kimmeridge Clay, capped with a 5 to 6-metre thickness of Upper Greensand, a type of sandstone. The greensand has weathered to buff, shelly, glauconitic, fine-grained sand and weakly cemented sandstone. The hill is ringed by extensive Upper Greensand landslips, which earlier led geologists to assign a greater thickness of greensand to the hill. Many springs issue from the base of the greensand, particularly on the north side of the hill.

Archaeology

An Iron Age bronze figurine of a boar was found on Duncliffe Hill.

References

References

1. [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/prominence.html ''Summit Listings by Relative Height''] by Jonathan de Ferranti. Accessed on 27 Mar 2013.
2. [http://www.westcountrygenealogy.com/blackmore/ ''The Blackmore Vale''] at www.westcountrygenealogy.com. Accessed on 28 Mar 2013.
3. "Duncliffe Wood Management Plan 2017-2022".
4. [[Ordnance Survey]] 1:50,000 ''Landranger'' series, No. 183.
5. C R Bristow, C M Barton, E C Freshney, C J Wood, D J Evans, B M Cox, H C Ivimey-Cook and R T Taylor. (1995). "Geology of the country around Shaftesbury. Memoir for 1:50 000 geological sheet 313 (England and Wales)".
6. Martin Henig & Laurence Keen, 1985, "Figurines from Duncliffe Hill, Motcombe, Dorset", ''Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society'', vol. 106, pp. 147-148.