 View from Warren Hill overlooking Mudeford Spit | |
| Location | near Christchurch |
|---|---|
| Region | Dorset, England |
| Coordinates | 50°42′57″N 1°45′14″W / 50.71583°N 1.75389°W |
| Type | Ancient Monument, Local Nature Reserve, SSSI |
| History | |
| Periods | Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Well preserved |
Hengistbury Head (/ˈhɛŋɡɪstbəri/), formerly also called Christchurch Head, is a headland jutting into the English Channel between Bournemouth and Mudeford in the English county of Dorset. It is a site of international importance in terms of its archaeology and is scheduled as an Ancient Monument.[1] Declared a Local Nature Reserve in 1990, the head and its surroundings form part of the Christchurch Harbour Site of Special Scientific Interest.[2] It is also a Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, an Environmentally Sensitive Area and a Site of Nature Conservation Interest.[3] The name "Hengistbury Head" refers to the whole of the headland area; the elevated portion is called Warren Hill.
There has been human activity on the site since the Upper Palaeolithic.[4][5] During the Victorian era, it was heavily quarried, and in recent years tourism has become significant – it receives more than one million visitors annually. The various habitats on the Head provide a home for many plants, birds and insects, some of them rare and critically endangered. Erosion remains a threat to the site, although long-term projects are intended to secure it for the future.
- ^ "Archaeology". Hengistbury Head Supporters Group. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ "Hengistbury Head Nature Reserve". Hengistbury Head Supporters Group. Archived from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ "Hengistbury Head Local Nature Reserve". Bournemouth Borough Council. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ Mace, A (1959). "An Upper Palaeolithic Open-site at Hengistbury Head, Christchurch, Hants". Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society. 25: 233–259. doi:10.1017/S0079497X00016558. S2CID 129928676. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ Barton (1982). "Hunters at Hengistbury: Some evidence from experimental archaeology". World Archaeology. 14 (2): 237–248. doi:10.1080/00438243.1982.9979864.