Summary:This paper re‐examines the pit circles at Dorchester on Thames in the light of the recently excavated timber circle at Sarn‐y‐bryn‐caled. It is suggested that the Dorchester sites were originally timber circles whose posts were later dug out prior to their secondary use as cremation cemeteries. Pits in the base of the segmented ditches, interpreted as ‘Bothroi’or votive pits by Atkinson, may represent the bases of the posts. These might survive either as a result of incomplete digging out or digging in to ensure that the tops of posts of unequal length were level. Duplication of post‐bases in some of the Dorchester sites finds parallel in the recently exacavated timber circle of