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HER:  Oxfordshire 7304 (MOX227)
NMR:  SU 28 NE 6 (225401)
SM:  1008412
NGR:  SU 2995 8633
X:  429945  Y:  186325  (OSGB36)
Near the village of Uffington, on White Horse Hill, a dominant position overlooking the Vale of the White Horse to the N and the Berkshire Downs to the S. In Aubrey's Monumenta Britannica (1665-93). Associated with the complex of monuments on the hill, especially the Uffington White Horse and Dragon Hill. A well preserved (National Trust) D-shaped enclosure of 3.2ha, univallate with ditch and counterscarp bank for entire circuit, Blocked entrance to the E which was originally a passageway with guard chambers, original entrance to W which is out-turned and links with enlarged counterscarp bank, two breaks through the rampart at NE and SE which are probably Romano-British. Geophysics and excavation (Miles et al 2003) have revealed internal features and dated the ramparts to two phases: box rampart c.8th/7th century BC, dump rampart c.4th century BC. Romano-British re-use of the enclosure, 2nd-4th centuries AD.
Citizen Science:  ✓
Reliability of Data:  Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed
X:  -174694  Y:  6723633  (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude:  -1.5693000610685042  Latitude:  51.574952162945884  (EPSG:4326)
Country:  England
Current County or Unitary Authority:  Oxfordshire
Historic County:  Berkshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Uffington
None
Extant   | ✓ |
Cropmark   | ✗ |
Likely Destroyed   | ✗ |
Preservation is good for rampart, ditch, counterscarp and western entrance. Interior has been ploughed in the past, now National Trust, sheep grazing. SSSI.
Woodland   | ✗ |
Commercial Forestry Plantation   | ✗ |
Parkland   | ✗ |
Pasture (Grazing)   | ✓ |
Arable   | ✗ |
Scrub/Bracken   | ✗ |
Bare Outcrop   | ✗ |
Heather/Moorland   | ✗ |
Heath   | ✗ |
Built-up   | ✗ |
Coastal Grassland   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
A contour fort on a prominent hill on the chalk escarpment overlooking the Vale of the White Horse
Contour Fort   | ✓ |
Partial Contour Fort   | ✗ |
Promontory Fort   | ✗ |
Hillslope Fort   | ✗ |
Level Terrain Fort   | ✗ |
Marsh Fort   | ✗ |
Multiple Enclosure Fort   | ✗ |
A contour fort on a prominent hill on the chalk escarpment overlooking the Vale of the White Horse
Hilltop   | ✗ |
Coastal Promontory   | ✗ |
Inland Promontory   | ✗ |
Valley Bottom   | ✗ |
Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop   | ✗ |
Ridge   | ✗ |
Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp   | ✓ |
Hillslope   | ✗ |
Lowland   | ✗ |
Spur   | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature:  On the chalk escarpment, good views in all directions.
North   | ✗ |
Northeast   | ✗ |
East   | ✗ |
Southeast   | ✗ |
South   | ✗ |
Southwest   | ✗ |
West   | ✗ |
Northwest   | ✗ |
Level   | ✓ |
Altitude:  260.0m
N/A
1st phase c. 8th/7th century BC (box rampart), 2nd phase c. 4th century BC (dump rampart). Romano-British re-use and modification
Reliability:  A - High
Pre 1200BC   | ✗ |
1200BC - 800BC   | ✗ |
800BC - 400BC   | ✓ |
400BC - AD50   | ✗ |
AD50 - AD400   | ✓ |
AD400 - AD 800   | ✗ |
Post AD800   | ✗ |
Unknown   | ✗ |
Pre Hillfort:   | None |
Post Hillfort:   | None |
Artefactual:   | Iron Age and Romano-British pottery typology |
In Aubrey's Monumenta Britannica (1665-93). Excavations and geophysics 1989-1995, interior, ramparts and surrounding monuments including a RB enclosure, the White Horse, the long barrow and nearby Tower Hill LBA settlement (Miles et. al. 2003).
Geophysical Survey (1989):   | None |
Geophysical Survey (1990):   | None |
Other (2003):   | Visited by Hillfort Study Group |
1st Identified Written Reference (None):   | Aubrey's Monumenta Britannica |
Excavation (None):   | Miles et al 2003 |
No internal features from surface evidence, pits, postholes, rectangular structures fro geophysics and excavations. A good range of material culture and environmental evidence from excavations.
No water inside, springs at the foot of the escarpment within 1km
None   | ✓ |
Spring   | ✗ |
Stream   | ✗ |
Pool   | ✗ |
Flush   | ✗ |
Well   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
None
No Known Features   | ✓ |
Round Stone Structures   | ✗ |
Rectangular Stone Structures   | ✗ |
Curvilinear Platforms   | ✗ |
Other Roundhouse Evidence   | ✗ |
Pits   | ✗ |
Quarry Hollows   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
Pits and possible 4-poster
No Known Excavation   | ✗ |
Pits   | ✓ |
Postholes   | ✓ |
Roundhouses   | ✗ |
Rectangular Structures   | ✓ |
Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
Quarry Hollows   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
Nothing Found   | ✗ |
Magnetometry shows pits and other possible features
No Known Geophysics   | ✗ |
Pits   | ✓ |
Roundhouses   | ✗ |
Rectangular Structures   | ✗ |
Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
Quarry Hollows   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
Nothing Found   | ✗ |
A good range of material culture and environmental evidence from modern excavations
No Known Finds   | ✗ |
Pottery   | ✓ |
Metal   | ✓ |
Metalworking   | ✗ |
Human Bones   | ✓ |
Animal Bones   | ✓ |
Lithics   | ✓ |
Environmental   | ✓ |
Other   | ✗ |
None
APs Not Checked   | ✗ |
None   | ✓ |
Roundhouses   | ✗ |
Rectangular Structures   | ✗ |
Pits   | ✗ |
Postholes   | ✗ |
Roads/Tracks   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
Original entrance to the W, out-turned corridor linking to counterscarp bank. Blocked entrance to E shown by change in the line of the rampart and by excavation, originally a passageway with guard chambers. Two breaks through the rampart (NE and SE) not original, may be Roman.
4:   | None |
2:   | None |
Guard Chambers:  ✓
Chevaux de Frise:  ✗
1. Passage-way/Corridor (West):   | Original entrance to the W, out-turned corridor linking to counterscarp bank |
2. Blocked (East):   | Blocked entrance to E shown by change in the line of the rampart and by excavation. |
2. Passage-way/Corridor (East):   | None |
Univallate with ditch and counterscarp bank for whole circuit. First phase - box rampart, small outer ditch. Second phase - dump rampart, inner low revetting wall of chalk blocks, large V-shaped ditch
Area 1:   | 3.2ha. |
Total:   | 3.2ha. |
Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.
Univallate with ditch and counterscarp bank for whole circuit.
✗   | None |
✓   | None |
NE Quadrant:   | 1 |
SE Quadrant:   | 1 |
SW Quadrant:   | 1 |
NW Quadrant:   | 1 |
Total:   | 1 |
Partial Univallate   | ✗ |
Univallate   | ✓ |
Partial Bivallate   | ✗ |
Bivallate   | ✗ |
Partial Multivallate   | ✗ |
Multivallate   | ✗ |
Unknown   | ✗ |
Partial Univallate   | ✗ |
Univallate   | ✗ |
Partial Bivallate   | ✗ |
Bivallate   | ✗ |
Partial Multivallate   | ✗ |
Multivallate   | ✗ |
Earthen bank with counterscarp
None   | ✗ |
Earthen Bank   | ✓ |
Stone Wall   | ✗ |
Rubble   | ✗ |
Wall-walk   | ✗ |
Evidence of Timber   | ✗ |
Vitrification   | ✗ |
Other Burning   | ✗ |
Palisade   | ✗ |
Counter Scarp Bank   | ✓ |
Berm   | ✗ |
Unfinished   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
First phase - box rampart, small outer ditch. Second phase - dump rampart, inner low revetting wall of chalk blocks, large V-shaped ditch
None   | ✗ |
Earthen Bank   | ✓ |
Stone Wall   | ✓ |
Murus Duplex   | ✗ |
Timber-framed   | ✓ |
Timber-laced   | ✗ |
Vitrification   | ✗ |
Other Burning   | ✗ |
Palisade   | ✗ |
Counter Scarp Bank   | ✓ |
Berm   | ✓ |
Unfinished   | ✗ |
No Known Excavation   | ✗ |
Other   | ✗ |
✗   | None |
✓   | One ditch for each of the two phases of rampart |
Number of Ditches:  1
✗   | None |
Miles, D., Palmer, S., Lock, G., Gosden, C. and Cromarty, A-M. 2003. Uffington White Horse and its landscape. Investigations at White Horse Hill Uffington, 1989-95 and Tower Hill Ashbury, 1993-4. Oxford: Oxford Archaeology. Thames Valley Landscapes Monograph 18.
Noon, S. 1990. UFFINGTON CASTLE, OXFORDSHIRE: REPORT ON GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY, 1989. AM LAB REPORT 94/90
Atlas of Hillforts:
Wikidata:
This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and should be cited as:
Lock, Gary and Ralston, Ian. 2024. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk
Document Version 1.1