A Gussage style settlement is a series of interconnected enclosures of irregular area and shape, which have been shown by excavation to date to the later Iron Age. The enclosures, defined by a series of ditches, generally cover areas of between 1.5 and 8.0ha, although examples have been recognised which cover as much as 38ha. Sites in this class show a restricted distribution in both topographical and regional terms, being found on the chalk plateaux of Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire.
Gussage style settlements are recognised and authenticated archaeologically by the presence of clusters of single ditched and banked enclosures, and by the fact that they lack evidence for earthworks enclosing the entire complex. Additional components which allow recognition include circular timber structures, burials and pits. Sites in this class have a high visibility on aerial photographs and may be authenticated by field survey, and by limited excavation to confirm their late Iron Age date.
Although certain functional similarities may exist, sites in this class need to be distinguished from other later Iron Age settlement forms, notably multiple dyke complexes. In addition, other small single enclosure forms, such as banjo enclosures may form components of this class.
Gussage style settlements contain evidence for a variety of activities, including domestic structures; stock management; cereal processing and storage and metalworking. It seems probable that sites in this class were essentially domestic in nature, although a number of authors have suggested that they occupied a position of some status within the contemporary settlement hierarchy (eg. Wainwright 1979).