[1] Its excavation by Augustus Pitt Rivers in 1893–1894 has been described as "an important event in the study of British archaeology".

[2] There are many prehistoric remains on Cranborne Chase from the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age.

[1] The barrow, aligned north-west to south-east, dates from the Early to Middle Neolithic period, about 3400–2400 BC.

[1][2][4] The timber mortuary enclosure, surrounded originally by a rectangular ditch, is regarded as the first phase of construction.

The intention of Pitt Rivers was that the site should be an amphitheatre "for games or other amusements and exhibitions".