Offham Hill Causewayed Enclosure, Neolithic causewayed enclosure in Hamsey, England
Offham Hill Causewayed Enclosure is a Neolithic earthwork site in Hamsey, East Sussex, made up of concentric ditches broken at intervals by raised causeways of undug ground. The ditches ring the top of a chalk hill and what remains visible today are low banks and shallow depressions in the grass.
The enclosure was built during the middle Neolithic, several thousand years ago, at a time when similar sites were being constructed across southern England. Excavations carried out in the 1970s brought up thousands of flint tools, pottery sherds, and human bone.
The name refers to the hill where the site sits and to the type of ditch construction that defines it. Visitors today see little more than low earthworks in an open field, which makes the place feel closer to nature than to history.
The site sits northeast of Lewes on open chalk downland, reached on foot along paths that cross open fields and gentle slopes. Sturdy footwear is a good idea, as the ground can be uneven and exposed to wind and rain.
Much of the original layout was removed by chalk quarrying in the 1800s, which means the full plan of the site can only be guessed at from what survives. Based on the remaining sections, researchers think the enclosure may originally have been D-shaped rather than round, which would set it apart from most comparable sites.
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