Flower’s Barrow is an Iron Age

Iron Age

The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

 hillfort

Hill fort

A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...

, built over 2500 years ago, above Worbarrow Bay

Worbarrow Bay

Worbarrow Bay is a large broad and shallow bay just to the east of Lulworth Cove on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, England.- Location :Worbarrow Bay is located about six kilometres south of Wareham and about 16 kilometres west of Swanage. At the eastern end of the Bay is a promontory known as...

 in Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

 on the south coast of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Location

Flower’s Barrow is located about 16 kilometres from Swanage

Swanage

Swanage is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 10 km south of Poole and 40 km east of Dorchester. The parish has a population of 10,124 . Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks,...

 and about six kilometres south of Wareham

Wareham, Dorset

Wareham is an historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parish, in the English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome eight miles southwest of Poole.-Situation and geography:...

.

Towering to the north over Worbarrow Bay is Flower’s Barrow ridge. This forms the western end of the ridge which runs all the way to Ballard Point north of Swanage. The ancient hillfort of Flower's Barrow rises behind the beach at Arish Mell. The hill lies directly west of the ghost village

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

 of Tyneham

Tyneham

Tyneham is a ghost village in south Dorset, England, near Lulworth on the Isle of Purbeck. It remains a civil parish.-Location:The village is situated northeast of Worbarrow Bay on the Jurassic Coast, about south of Wareham and about west of Swanage. It is part of the Lulworth Estate. Tyneham is...

. Flower’s Barrow has a limited future because the southern part is falling into the sea at Worbarrow Bay due to coastal erosion. Probably more than half of it has already disappeared.

Access to Flower’s Barrow hillfort is solely possible by foot, either from Tyneham, with a steep uphill walk, or alternatively from the viewing point and car park at Whiteway Hill walking along the hill to the west. Flower’s Barrow is only accessible when the Lulworth Military Range

Lulworth Military Range

Lulworth Military Range is a military firing range located between Wareham and Lulworth in Dorset, England. It is owned by the Ministry of Defence and is part of the Armoured Fighting Vehicles Gunnery School....

s are open to the public. The range is owned by the Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

 and is part of the Armoured Fighting Vehicles Gunnery School. The 7500 acre range lies within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...

 and stretches along the coastline between Lulworth Cove

Lulworth Cove

Lulworth Cove is a cove near the village of West Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site in Dorset, southern England. The cove is one of the world's finest examples of such a landform, and is a tourist location with over 1 million visitors a year...

 to just west of Kimmeridge

Kimmeridge

Kimmeridge is a small village in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England, situated on the English Channel coast. Kimmeridge is about south of Wareham and about west of Swanage and is on the Isle of Purbeck...

. Safety warnings about explosives and unexploded shells

Shell (projectile)

A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...

 are posted around the site by the MoD, visitors are advised to keep to official footpaths and abide to local site notices, because tanks and Armoured vehicle

Armoured fighting vehicle

An armoured fighting vehicle is a combat vehicle, protected by strong armour and armed with weapons. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked....

s are used in this area.

Hillfort

This early Iron Age hillfort, taken over by the Romans when they invaded, has double and triple ramparts. The parallel double ramparts on the east and west flanks are connected along the northern border and are unmistakably visible. Because the cliff face acted as defence, it is probable that there were never ramparts along the southern end.

Several sections of the interior of the hillfort have been exposed following coastal erosion. Hut circles are visible within the interior of the fort. During a minor excavation in 1939 fragments of Iron Age pottery, as well as sling-stones and bones were found in a pit near the western entrance. Subsequent landslides have revealed the floor of the hillfort. The continual ground disturbances at the southern fringe increase the possibility of further archaeological finds. However, the twin hazards of the cliff erosion and the possibility of unexploded military shells

Shell (projectile)

A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...

 from the Lulworth Military Range

Lulworth Military Range

Lulworth Military Range is a military firing range located between Wareham and Lulworth in Dorset, England. It is owned by the Ministry of Defence and is part of the Armoured Fighting Vehicles Gunnery School....

 command extreme caution. Visitors are warned to keep to the footpaths and between the yellow MoD markers.

Jurassic Coast

Flower’s Barrow, Arish Mell and Worbarrow Bay are part of the Jurassic Coast

Jurassic Coast

The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....

, a World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

. The coastal exposures along the Jurassic coastline provide a continuous sequence of Triassic

Triassic

The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...

, Jurassic

Jurassic

The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to  Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...

 and Cretaceous

Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...

 rock formations spanning approximately 185 million years of the Earths history. The rocks along the Jurassic Coast dip gently to the east. Due to this tilting and due to erosion the oldest exposed rocks are found in the west. The younger Cretaceous rocks form the cliffs here in the east.

• For further Jurassic sites see: List of places on the Jurassic Coast

Geology

The steep angular layers of rock, that are clearly visible in the bay, reveal the complex sedimentary folding that disturbed the geology in this vicinity. These folds were caused by tectonic pressures some 30 million years ago as the African and European continents collided. At this time the cliff sediments were twisted horizontally and this is why the Chalks that are between 85 to 145 million years old are found at the rear of the bay. The sediments that form Mupe Ledges, the Mupe Rocks and the peninsula Worbarrow Tout

Worbarrow Tout

Worbarrow Tout is a promontory at the eastern end of Worbarrow Bay on Isle of Purbeck in Dorset on the south coast of England.- Location :Worbarrow Bay and Worbarrow Tout are located about six kilometres south of Wareham und about 16 kilometres west of Swanage. Worbarrow Bay lies between Kimmeridge...

are 150 million year old Portland Limestone and 147 million year old Purbeck Beds.