Buckholt Neolithic Enclosure

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The monument comprises the buried remains and associated deposits of a ditched enclosure with internal pits centred on a rich and extensive surface lithic scatter, dated to the early Neolithic period (c.3800-3500 BC) through struck flints and pottery.

The monument is located on the gentler north and west-facing slopes of a rounded hill at the south-eastern end of Buckholt ridge with extensive views along the Wye and Monnow valleys to the south and east. The ditch was identified by geophysical survey and confirmed by archaeological excavation and corresponds with a slight earthwork running for an arc of 150m around the 195m contour of the hill.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric ceremonial practices. The presence of a ditch on the site, together with the large volume of artefacts recovered from the surface, suggest the monument may be an early Neolithic enclosure similar to those found at Caerau in Cardiff and Dorstone in Herefordshire. It forms a rare and important relic of the Neolithic landscape and retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of intact archaeological deposits and associated artefacts, together with structural and paleo-environmental evidence.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. It is roughly oval in plan and measures 140m E/W by 93m N/S.