Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN0119 Tilberthwaite, Cumberland

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Lake District National Park 1871 (None)

NMR:  NY 30 SW 1 (10287)

SM:  None

NGR:  NY 30810 01050

X:  330810  Y:  501050  (OSGB36)

Summary

Lying within woodland on a high ridge at Low Coppice, without any obvious artificial works. The interpretation as a fort has been based on the name Tillesbure which occurs in a document dated between 1157-1163. The summit of the ridge is uneven with a number of outcrops and hollows. Some of the hollows were found by excavation to be occupation floors, although the site is unlikely to have been permanently occupied. Excavations (Collingwood) in 1922 produced no dating evidence and the site could be of any period. Fieldwork by The National Trust in 1994 could not locate the site. Not recorded on OS mapping. The site is undated and could be of any period.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Unconfirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Unconfirmed

Location

X:  -341451  Y:  7246318  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -3.067303149401674  Latitude:  54.400205906114564  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Cumbria

Historic County:  Cumberland

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Coniston

Monument Condition

Natural feature

Condition:
Extant   ✓
Cropmark   ✗
Likely Destroyed   ✓

Land Use

The site is owned by the National Trust Ref No; 20303

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

A possible contour fort located on the summit of a high ridge within woodland at 160m OD

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:  Situated on a high ridge

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

Altitude:  160.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

Considered to be medieval based on a 12th century documentary reference, but could be of any period

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

A number of small hollows were excavated in 1922 (Collingwood 1923) and found to contain a 5cm thick layer with stone flakes and charcoal inclusions overlain by dark grey sandy clay, but no dateable material. Field investigation in 1957

Investigations:
Excavation (1922):   No dating evidence recovered
Other (1957):   None

Interior Features

Natural hollows which excavation has shown were utilised as hut floors

Water Source

Overlooks Yewdale Beck

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

Surface

Natural hollows

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

Excavation

Natural hollows found to contain evidence of occupation

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

Stone flakes and charcoal

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

Aerial

Woodland

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

Entrances

No entrances are recorded

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
0:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

No artificial ramparts

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

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   Area not estimated

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   None
SE Quadrant:   None
SW Quadrant:   None
NW Quadrant:   None
Total:   None

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

None

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

Interior only

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:
✗   None

Number of Ditches:  0

Annex:
✗   None

References

Collingwood, WRCRG 1923. Trans Cumberland Westmorland Antiq Archaeol Soc 23/1923,138-41



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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