EARLY MAN IN DORSET. 35 



the Stone Circles as temples of worship. Of these, Avebury 

 is by far the largest and also one of the oldest examples 

 in our own country. Stonehenge probably represents two 

 periods of erection. In its later grandeur it belongs to the 

 very end of the Stone Age, when Bronze was just beginning 

 to be used, about 2,000 B.C. In Dorset we have some fine 

 specimens of dolmens. There is one in ruins alongside the 

 Dorchester-Bridport Road, another known as " The grey 

 mare and her colts " is at Gorwell, Blackdown, and a third, 

 "The Two Gates " is on the disused Roman portion of the 

 road from Dorchester to Bridport. The " Helstone," above 

 Portesham, has been restored as a dolmen, but seems to 

 have been originally a round barrow. Other megalithic 

 remains in the county are " The Broad Stone," a fallen 

 menhir or pillar, near Winterbourne Abbas, " The 

 Harpstone," near Steeple, and another menhir near Kingston 

 Russell, the two latter being still upright. Then there are 

 small stone circles, the best known, perhaps, being " The 

 Nine Stones," near Winterbourne Abbas, and there are 

 similar remains at Osmington Hill, on Tenant Hill, 

 Kingston Russell, at Rempstone, and near Longbredy 

 Gate. 



The county is abundantly supplied with " pit dwellings," 

 and when the Ordnance Survey indicates a " British 

 Village," this generally means a Neolithic settlement, 

 especially if it is not situated within an entrenchment. It 

 is, however, quite possible that some of the Hill-top camps, 

 of which \ve shall speak directly, were begun by Neolithic 

 man, the ramparts being afterwards much strengthened 

 by his successors. We are safe in calling these camps 

 " British" and " pre-Roman," and undoubtedly the great 

 diggers belong to the Bronze Age ; more than this is mere 

 conjecture. 



Finally, we may say of Neolithic man that he belonged 

 to the Mongoloid Division of the Human Family, and is 

 probably now represented by the Lapps of Northern 

 Europe. 



