Prehistoric

The downland north of Mere runs right across to Salisbury Plain which is crowded with the relics of prehistoric civilisations; Mere lay at the edge of probably the most populated area in prehistoric Britain.

At the base of the chalk downs is a continuous array of springs, giving a constant flow of pure water. The chalk downs suffer from an absence of surface water supplies and the presence of dependable water must have made settlement by the springs an attractive proposition. Mere and its neighbouring hamlets are in fact a classic example of springline settlement.

Lowland

Mesolithic flint cores were found during the construction of the Mere by-pass, and Neolithic artefacts have been found in significant numbers around the parish.

A barrow, probably of the Bronze Age, but used many centuries later as the base of a windmill, has been located at W. Knoyle [ST84253214] and a tumulus survives by the old nursery at Burton [ST826326]. Moreover, we have a record of a vanished site. In his "Ancient History of South Wilts" [1812, p254] Colt Hoare records the existence of a number of low barrows on Mappledore Hill [ST805303], right on the Southern boundary of the parish and on the ridge followed by the Gillingham road. He was writing soon after the 1807 enclosure of the common at this site and refers to the barrows as being nearly levelled by cultivation. In cutting a ditch through one of them labourers had discovered some vessels of coarse pottery. These barrows had presumably survived till then by being on the common land which Colt Hoare had described as the haunt of rogues and sheep stealers. Nearly all trace of them has now gone, though archaeologists have identified the site of one of them, but it is tantalising to wonder how many more traces had been obliterated in the previous thousand years of cultivation of the area. With the discovery of a number of Bronze Age artefacts in various parts of the lowland area we are justified in assuming that there was Bronze Age settlement in the Mere area.

Ploughs were primitive, usually just a wooden spike dragged through the ground - pulled by an ox if you were lucky, but more often by the 'wife'. So in this period only a small portion of the heavy clay soils of the lowland had been cleared and brought under cultivation.

Downland

The downs hereabouts show some of the most concentrated prehistoric activity of anywhere in Europe. Here the natural vegetation on the thin well-drained soils was easier for early man to clear with his flint tools to provide grazing areas for his flocks.

Whilst constructing the car park at Stonehenge a Mesolithic (10,000 years ago) monument comprising huge posts or tree trunks was uncovered.

Neolithic causewayed camp on the west side of Whitesheet Hill

The surrounding ditch has been highlighted in emerald green. The road passing through it became the coach road from Hindon to Wincanton. The round features are later Bronze Age.

Image: David Stokes

From the Neolithic Age (late stone age approx 5000-4000 years ago) there survives long (burial) barrows (location and sketch required) and a causewayed camp at White Sheet Down [ST 802352] - the earliest known construction in the area. (sketch required) The purpose of causewayed camps is believed to be ritual. It is common to find the remains of prime joints of female cattle in the ditches - perhaps indicating places of slaughter and feasting. At Whitesheet's camp cattle skulls were found in the ditches adjacent to the causeways. ¹Not too far away, archaeologists recently discover a complex of Neolithic buildings at Durrington Walls just 3km from Stonehenge. It is so far the the largest Neolithic settlement in found northern Europe. The buildings show no signs of day-to-day habitation but there are signs of feasting around the winter and summer solstices. Several thousand people could have stayed in the small houses that once filled this valley between Larkhill and the River Avon. Pig and cider appear to have been favourite at the winter solstice. The were about 5.5m square with a central fireplace set within a plastered floor surrounded by built-in timber furniture. The wall were made of wattle and daub; the roofs probably thatched. Larger building about 40m square were set within banked ditches and palisades - they may have been shrines or the chief's house? ²

So we can surmise that in the Neolithic, people in our area lived in square wattle-and-daub huts and held religious ceremonies involving alcohol and feasting at the the causewayed enclosure on Whitesheet Down.

The round burial burrows so plentiful on Whitesheet Down date from the Bronze Age [approx 4000-3000 years ago]. (photo required). Many were excavated by Colt-Hoare circa 1810 and found to contain skeletons, cremations and grave items. (ref reqd) There was active land cultivation as evidenced by the small rectangular enclosures and boundary ditches.

Whitesheet Castle

Photo: David Stokes

The Iron Age (approx 3000-2000 years ago) has left us several hill forts. On the edge of the downs, overlooking Mere [ST804345] is the promontory hill fort of Whitesheet Castle, with its single ditch & bank on the steep slope and triple rings of defences on the flat downs side. It encloses about 5 hectares and finds indicate an agriculture activity with cattle and sheep.

This was the land of the Celtic Durotrige tribe, who occupied all of Dorset and southern Wiltshire.

Photo: Unknown

Running over the top of Whitesheet Hill is a track, leaving the A303 at Willoughby Hedge and continuing by way of the Alfred's Tower ridge well into Somerset. This may be ancient ridgeway which until the mid 18c it was still one of the major roads to the West of England.

At various points on Whitesheet Down "cross-dykes" may be seen traversing the ridges of spurs of hills; these may have had a defensive purpose, but could merely have marked territorial or farm boundaries or provided routes for the driving of stock from one valley slope to the other. (photo needed)

At various places on the downland clusters of low ridges forming a pattern of small rectangular plots reveal the sites of very early agricultural fields. Good examples of these can be seen between Pertwood [itself certainly a very early settlement] and Brixton Deverill. (photo needed)

We thus have the picture of a series of prehistoric settlements at the foot of the downs along the spring line with well developed agriculture, defence and ritual sites on the downs.