The Dorset Cursus would have been a magnificent monument and expansive feature in the Neolithic landscape. Comprising of two joined sections, the Cursus is a linear feature of two parallel banks and ditches running for 10 km north east/south west across the undulating north Dorset landscape. For the most part nothing of this vast monument remains visible above ground. Though some of the associated features still remain visible. The earliest of these features are the Long Barrows, the focus of collect burial, these monuments pre-date or are contemporary with the Cursus, with one being incorporated in the bank. At the north eastern terminus of the Cursus are several Long Barrows, a couple of which are tree crowned, and when approached from the right direction create a striking silhouette on the rise. I love walking these archaeologically rich landscapes, and they don't come much richer than Cranborne; although the Cursus and Long Barrows are Neolithic, all the ages are represented. Bronze Age Barrows, earthworks and enclosures, Iron Age settlements and earthworks, a Roman road, right up to the mid 20th century military firing ranges, and evidence of the hunting and farming practices in-between. Fantastic. I really feel I'm walking in footsteps of the ancestors, in their landscapes, their monuments and activities come to life in my minds eye.
