LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Oxfordshire 1621 (MOX23)
NMR: SP 33 NE 10 (335064)
SM: 1006370
NGR: SP 3879 3566
X: 438795 Y: 235665 (OSGB36)
On Tadmarton Heath, a roughly circular site enclosing c.1.9ha, situated on a plateau with good views all around. Bivallate for whole circuit with a possible third rampart to the N, original in-turned entrance to the E. Inner and outer ramparts survive to c.2m high and c.10m wide in places. A road runs NE to SW through the middle of the site (on 1st ed OS map of 1881) and the area S of the road has been damaged by the construction of a golf course (established in 1922). The ramparts survive best to the N and NW. No serious interventions, Iron Age and Romano-British pottery found during ad hoc diggings.
Citizen Science: ✓
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -159865 Y: 6803384 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -1.4360925796622575 Latitude: 52.018018261073834 (EPSG:4326)
Country: England; None
Current County or Unitary Authority: Oxfordshire
Historic County: Oxfordshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Tadmarton; Swalcliffe
Site is cut by a road NE to SW. Outer rampart ploughed away to north and west. South and East damaged by golf course greens. Inner rampart visible for most of its circuit.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
None
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✗ |
| Arable | ✓ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✓ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Approximately follows the contours of a low hill
| Contour Fort | ✗ |
| Partial Contour Fort | ✓ |
| Promontory Fort | ✗ |
| Hillslope Fort | ✗ |
| Level Terrain Fort | ✗ |
| Marsh Fort | ✗ |
| Multiple Enclosure Fort | ✗ |
Approximately follows the contours of a low hill
| Hilltop | ✓ |
| Coastal Promontory | ✗ |
| Inland Promontory | ✗ |
| Valley Bottom | ✗ |
| Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop | ✗ |
| Ridge | ✗ |
| Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp | ✗ |
| Hillslope | ✗ |
| Lowland | ✗ |
| Spur | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature: On a low hill but with good views in all directions
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✓ |
Altitude: 195.0m
Boundary Type: Parish/Townland
Late Iron Age and Romano-British pottery, RB coin, from ad hoc surface finds and when constructing the golf course
Reliability: C - Low
| 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 |
| Morphology/Earthwork/Typology: | Form of bivallate hillfort |
On First edition OS map, in Plot 1705. Amateur excavations, no details other than some finds.
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1705): | Plot |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1881): | 1st Ed. OS |
No evidence other than surface finds
A spring c.300m away
| 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 | ✗ |
None
| No Known Excavation | ✓ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
| Nothing Found | ✗ |
None
| No Known Geophysics | ✓ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
| Nothing Found | ✗ |
Iron Age and Romano-British pottery from ad hoc diggings
| 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 | ✗ |
Possible inturned entrance on E side
| 4: | Road runs NE-SW through the site (existed in 1881, 1st Ed OS). Agricultural break through at NW. Also two small golf paths through ramparts. |
| 2: | Possible inturned entrance on E side |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. In-turned (East): | None |
Bivallate plus two ditches for whole circuit, inner and outer ramparts up to 2m high and 10m wide in places. Possibly third rampart to the N according to the VCH but not visible on the ground.
| Area 1: | 1.9ha. |
| Total: | 1.9ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
Possible third rampart to N according to VCH but not visible on the ground
| ✗ | None |
| ✓ | Inner rampart well preserved, outer destroyed in places by ploughing and golf course |
| NE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SW Quadrant: | 2 |
| NW Quadrant: | 2 |
| Total: | 2 |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✓ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
Earthen bank
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✓ |
| Stone Wall | ✗ |
| Rubble | ✗ |
| Wall-walk | ✗ |
| Evidence of Timber | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✗ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Stone revetment for inner rampart revealed when constructing the golf course.
| 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 |
| ✓ | Two ditches visible as hollows for much of the circuit, especially the inner |
Number of Ditches: 2
| ✗ | None |
Manning, P. and Leeds, E.T. 1921. An archaeological survey of Oxfordshire. London: Society of Antiquaries.
Page, W. (ed) 1907. The Victoria History of the County of Oxford, Vol II. London, 316-7.
Plot, R. 1705. The natural history of Oxfordshire, 342.
Sutton, J.E.G. 1966. Iron-Age hill-forts and some other earthworks in Oxfordshire, Oxoniensia, 31, 28-42.
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