LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Oxfordshire 1376 (MOX260)
NMR: SP 4 1 SE 19 (336736)
SM: 1013234
NGR: SP 4568 1381
X: 445685 Y: 213805 (OSGB36)
W of Begbroke, located on a slightly raised plateau with good views. On 1st Ed. OS map (1885-1900). An oval enclosure of 2.5ha, approx. 200m N-S and 180m E-W. Bivallate with two ditches for its entire circuit, two possible entrances both simple gaps to the SE and NW. On the S the outer ditch is up to 8m wide, the outer bank 12m, the inner ditch 8m and the inner bank 6m. Excavation across one rampart and ditch (OUAS 1988) showed the rampart to be c6m wide with dry-stone revetting faces filled with rubble, sand and clay all of which showed burning. The site is now covered with trees and badly damaged especially at the N and W due to surface quarrying. Small amounts of pottery from the excavated ditch suggest an early Iron Age date.
Citizen Science: ✓
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -149011 Y: 6767818 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -1.3385905400584663 Latitude: 51.82096475773893 (EPSG:4326)
Country: England
Current County or Unitary Authority: Oxfordshire
Historic County: Oxfordshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Bladon
None
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
Upstanding for most of the circuit but in poor condition, bivallate with ditches, outer bank slight, inner bank survives in places, some small-scale quarry damage on the W. Whole site covered with trees and scrub.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✓ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✗ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✓ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
On the top of a low, flat plateau/hillock c.35m higher than the surrounding landscape
| Contour Fort | ✗ |
| Partial Contour Fort | ✓ |
| Promontory Fort | ✗ |
| Hillslope Fort | ✗ |
| Level Terrain Fort | ✗ |
| Marsh Fort | ✗ |
| Multiple Enclosure Fort | ✗ |
| Hilltop | ✗ |
| Coastal Promontory | ✗ |
| Inland Promontory | ✗ |
| Valley Bottom | ✗ |
| Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop | ✓ |
| Ridge | ✗ |
| Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp | ✗ |
| Hillslope | ✗ |
| Lowland | ✗ |
| Spur | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature: On a flat-topped hill with good views in all directions
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✓ |
Altitude: 113.0m
N/A
Small amounts of possible early Iron Age pottery from excavation (OUAS 1988)
Reliability: B - Medium
| Pre 1200BC | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC | ✓ |
| 400BC - AD50 | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400 | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800 | ✗ |
| Post AD800 | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Pre Hillfort: | None |
| Post Hillfort: | None |
| Artefactual: | Pottery from excavation |
On 1st Ed. OS map (1885-1900). In Plot 1705. Small scale excavation through rampart (OUAS 1988)
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1705): | Plot |
| Excavation (1987): | OUAS 1988 |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (None): | 1st Ed. OS |
None. Pottery from ditch excavation.
None
| 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 | ✗ |
None
| 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 | ✗ |
Two possible entrances, NW and SE, uncertain due to damaged
| None: | Unknown |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (South east): | Only a possibility due to damage |
| 2. Simple Gap (North west): | Only a possibility due to damage |
Much damaged but bivallate with probably two ditches for the whole circuit. Ramparts atanding up to 7m wide and 0.7m high in places, shown by excavation (OUAS 1988) to have inner and outer dry-stone revetting walls 6m apart with rubble, clay and sand infill, evidence of burning. Ditches visible in places c7m wide and 0.3m deep.
| Area 1: | 2.5ha. |
| Total: | 2.5ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✓ | None |
| 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 | ✗ |
Badly damaged, rubble and stone on ramparts
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✓ |
| Stone Wall | ✗ |
| Rubble | ✓ |
| Wall-walk | ✗ |
| Evidence of Timber | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✗ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Inner and outer dry-stone revetting walls, rubble, sand and clay infill, evidence of burning.
| 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, not excavated but c7m wide on surface |
Number of Ditches: 2
| ✗ | None |
Manning, P. and Leeds, E.T. 1921. An archaeological survey of Oxfordshire. London: Society of Antiquaries.
Oxford University Archaeological Society, 1988. Bladon Round Castle 1987. 1988. S Midlands Archaeol, 18, 94.
Page, W. (ed) 1907. The Victoria History of the County of Oxford, Vol II. London, 310.
Plot, R. 1705. The natural History of Oxfordshire.
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