Possible ritual shaft at Belle Tout. A fall of the chalk cliff revealed a shaft about 4ft diameter, running from the top to bottom of the cliff (some 140ft high) and which apparently went below the present wave-cut platform at sea-level. The shaft showed foot-holds opposite one another at 18 inch intervals. The upper part was full of soil, but impossible to excavate due to the danger of further cliff falls. Stratification of the upcast at the top of the cliff shows the shaft to be later than the early Beaker enclosure in which it is situated. The earthwork trace of the shaft entrance was mapped from RAF aerial photographs taken in 1946 prior to erosion and loss of the feature. This was mapped as part of the English Heriage: South Downs NMP project.

Period

Prehistory (before 43AD)

Period comments

Bronze Age

The earliest date of the feature, as a year, if known

-2600

The latest date of the feature, as a year, if known

-700

Monument Type - Broad

FINDSPOT|RITUAL SHAFT|SHAFT

Monument Type - Narrow

Monument Description

Evidence Type - Broad

Evidence Type - Narrow

Evidence Description

Object Type - Broad

Object Type - Narrow

Object Description

Other records:

NRHE Number

1059128

NT HBSMR Number

MNA127473

HER Event Number

Unknown

External Link

None

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