Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN0006 Broad Oak, Garway, Herefordshire

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Herefordshire MHE21869 (None)

NMR:  None (None)

SM:  None

NGR:  SO 436244

X:  343670  Y:  224476  (OSGB36)

Summary

Possible inland promontory fort, ploughed for centuries and now cropmark and, to a degree, comments subject to conjecture.Area not determined. Three widely-spaced ditches appear to cut off a broad promontory with steep W slopes, less steep to N and S. Possible earthworks may exist in woodland to the W, but no access to allowed to determine this. To the N a field boundary may indicate the site of rampart. Possible entrance on the E, where apparent gaps in the ditches on the ridge crest. The highest point of the knoll or promontory is to the E overlooking the site. The site was not recorded on the first edition of the OS map. Undated.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Irreconciled issues

Reliability of Interpretation:  Irreconciled issues

Location

X:  -313968  Y:  6784935  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -2.8204203142022424  Latitude:  51.915909188758704  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Herefordshire

Historic County:  Herefordshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Garway

Monument Condition

Survives only as a cropmark. Possible further earthworks may exist in woodland to the W.

Condition:
Extant   ✗
Cropmark   ✓
Likely Destroyed   ✗

Land Use

The site has been ploughed for centuries.

Current Use:
Woodland   ✗
Commercial Forestry Plantation   ✗
Parkland   ✗
Pasture (Grazing)   ✗
Arable   ✓
Scrub/Bracken   ✗
Bare Outcrop   ✗
Heather/Moorland   ✗
Heath   ✗
Built-up   ✗
Coastal Grassland   ✗
Other   ✗

Landscape

Hillfort Type

The site is a cropmark but appears to cut off the promontory. Sited on a broad promontory overlooking the Monnow valley with steep slopes to the W, less so to the N and S. Highest point of the knoll or promontory is to the E which overlooks the hillfort.

Type:
Contour Fort   ✗
Partial Contour Fort   ✗
Promontory Fort   ✓
Hillslope Fort   ✗
Level Terrain Fort   ✗
Marsh Fort   ✗
Multiple Enclosure Fort   ✗

Topographic Position

Position:
Hilltop   ✗
Coastal Promontory   ✗
Inland Promontory   ✓
Valley Bottom   ✗
Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop   ✗
Ridge   ✗
Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp   ✗
Hillslope   ✗
Lowland   ✗
Spur   ✗

Dominant Topographic Feature:  Knoll or promontory

Aspect:
North   ✗
Northeast   ✗
East   ✗
Southeast   ✗
South   ✗
Southwest   ✗
West   ✗
Northwest   ✗
Level   ✓

Altitude:  140.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

None

Reliability:  D - None

Principal Activity:
Pre 1200BC   ✗
1200BC - 800BC   ✗
800BC - 400BC   ✗
400BC - AD50   ✗
AD50 - AD400   ✗
AD400 - AD 800   ✗
Post AD800   ✗
Unknown   ✓

Other Activity:
Pre Hillfort:   None
Post Hillfort:   None

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

Herefordshire Council survey 2012.

Investigations:
Other (2012):   Herefordshire Council survey.

Interior Features

Site destroyed, now only a cropmark and any internal features not recorded.

Water Source

No water on site.

Source:
None   ✓
Spring   ✗
Stream   ✗
Pool   ✗
Flush   ✗
Well   ✗
Other   ✗

Surface

None

Interior Features (Surface):
No Known Features   ✓
Round Stone Structures   ✗
Rectangular Stone Structures   ✗
Curvilinear Platforms   ✗
Other Roundhouse Evidence   ✗
Pits   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗

Excavation

None

Interior Features (Excavation):
No Known Excavation   ✓
Pits   ✗
Postholes   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗
Nothing Found   ✗

Geophysics

None

Interior Features (Geophysics):
No Known Geophysics   ✓
Pits   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Quarry Hollows   ✗
Other   ✗
Nothing Found   ✗

Finds

None

Interior (Finds):
No Known Finds   ✓
Pottery   ✗
Metal   ✗
Metalworking   ✗
Human Bones   ✗
Animal Bones   ✗
Lithics   ✗
Environmental   ✗
Other   ✗

Aerial

None

Interior Features (Aerial):
APs Not Checked   ✓
None   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Pits   ✗
Postholes   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Other   ✗

Entrances

Possible E entrance indicated by gaps in cropmark ditches on the ridge crest to the E.

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
1:   No modern gaps recorded.

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   Possible E entrance indicated by gaps in cropmark ditches on the ridge crest to the E.

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (East):   Cropmark indication only of simple gap to E.

Enclosing Works

Cropmark site. Three widely-spaced ditches appear to cut off the promontory with steep W slopes, less steep to the N and S. Possible earthworks may exist in woodland to the W, but no access to allowed to determine this. To the N a field boundary may indicate the site of rampart.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   Noneha.
Total:   Noneha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   Cropmark only and its size or area has not been determined.

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   Suggested by ditches

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   3
SE Quadrant:   0
SW Quadrant:   0
NW Quadrant:   3
Total:   3

Morphology

Current Morphology:
Partial Univallate   ✗
Univallate   ✗
Partial Bivallate   ✗
Bivallate   ✗
Partial Multivallate   ✓
Multivallate   ✗
Unknown   ✗

Detailed Morphology:
Partial Univallate   ✗
Univallate   ✗
Partial Bivallate   ✗
Bivallate   ✗
Partial Multivallate   ✗
Multivallate   ✗

Surface Evidence

Cropmark only precludes analysis.

Enclosing Works (Surface):
None   ✓
Earthen Bank   ✗
Stone Wall   ✗
Rubble   ✗
Wall-walk   ✗
Evidence of Timber   ✗
Vitrification   ✗
Other Burning   ✗
Palisade   ✗
Counter Scarp Bank   ✗
Berm   ✗
Unfinished   ✗
Other   ✗

Excavated Evidence

None

Enclosing Works (Excavation):
None   ✗
Earthen Bank   ✗
Stone Wall   ✗
Murus Duplex   ✗
Timber-framed   ✗
Timber-laced   ✗
Vitrification   ✗
Other Burning   ✗
Palisade   ✗
Counter Scarp Bank   ✗
Berm   ✗
Unfinished   ✗
No Known Excavation   ✓
Other   ✗

Other

Gang Working:
✗   None

Ditches:
✓   Because of the nature of the cropmark this is unclear, but possibly three.

Number of Ditches:  3

Annex:
✗   None

References

Dorling, P. and Wigley, A. 2012. Assessment of the archaeological and conservation status of major later prehistoric enclosures in Herefordshire and Shropshire, EH PNUM, Version 3.2, Hereford and Shrewsbury: Herefordshire Council/Shropshire Council.



Terms of Use

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


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