Iron Age settlement and associated field system on Smedmore Hill

The Smedmore Hill Settlement is an Iron Age and Romano-British site on the northern slope of a limestone ridge called Smedmore Hill. It lies about two miles south-west of Corfe Castle in Dorset. The scheduled monument covers roughly 1.2 hectares, though ploughing has reduced its size slightly at the north-east edge. Small enclosures, each between 0.02 and 0.08 hectares, are terraced into the hillside and separated by low rubble-built banks. A larger outer bank, up to 0.9 metres high, surrounds part of the settlement, with four gaps likely serving as entrances. The site offers rare evidence of subsistence farming from over two thousand years ago. Excavations in 1956 uncovered Iron Age and Romano-British pottery, including Samian ware, confirming continuous occupation. The layout suggests careful organisation, with inward-turning banks near the western entrance possibly guiding livestock. A large enclosure about 150 metres east may have been a paddock, while lynchets to the north and north-east indicate former cultivation terraces. Visitors walk among the low stone banks that mark the terraced enclosures and outer boundary. The slope provides wide views across the surrounding countryside. Traces of the ancient field system extend beyond the settlement, showing how the land was used for both pasture and crops. The site remains a well-preserved example of its kind, offering a quiet place to imagine life in the Iron Age.