Pit Villages

Pit Villages are collections of earth-caves, dug in the ground and covered with stones, wooden or wattle lids, or clay or sods of turf. They were used by prehistoric races or by races at the lowest stages of barbarism. A good example was unearthed during the latter half of the 19th century near St Mary Bourne, north-east of Andover, in north-western Hampshire. The pits are reached by entrance shafts, sloping downwards. The pits themselves are oval or pear-shaped, varying between 22 and 42 feet in length, and are about 12 or 13 feet wide, and 5 feet high, with the fireplace in the centre. Flint and bone implements and rude pottery have been found in them.