Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN0151 Ilbury Camp, Oxfordshire

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

Scroll left/right to view further images.

HER:  Oxfordshire 2320 (MOX303)

NMR:  SP 43 W 11 (337097)

SM:  1015167

NGR:  SP 4378 3055

X:  443779  Y:  230642  (OSGB36)

Summary

NE of Nether Worton, situated on a prominent hilltop with good views in all directions. Mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086) and on the 1st Ed. OS map. A kidney shaped univallate enclosure of 2.4ha, the rampart contains stone, and survives up to c.4m high and c.10m wide at the NW, ploughed away along the E side bit still visible as c.1m high rise, ditch is c.0.6m deep and c.12m wide on W side and shows as a crop mark along the E. A single entrance at the SE. The interior and E half of the fort have been ploughed, the W rampart is tree and scrub covered. No interventions but surface finds of Iron Age pottery, also early Romano-British and medieval.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✓

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -151852  Y:  6795153  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -1.364108854773655  Latitude:  51.97248982681769  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Oxfordshire

Historic County:  Oxfordshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Deddington

Monument Condition

On Heritage at Risk Register (2015).

Condition:
Extant   ✓
Cropmark   ✗
Likely Destroyed   ✗

Land Use

Upstanding mainly around the W half, bank covered by trees and shrubs. Split be fence line through the middle with pasture to the W and arable to the E resulting in the E rampart being much denuded.

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 pear-shaped partial contour fort which uses the natural slopes on the W and S sides, on the top of a prominent hill with good views all around.

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:  On prominent hill with good views all around

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

Altitude:  122.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

Iron Age pottery from the interior/rampart surface, also early Romano-British and medieval.

Reliability:  C - Low

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:
Artefactual:   Iron Age pottery from the interior/rampart surface

Investigation History

Mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086) and on the 1st Ed. OS map. Surface finds of pottery.

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1086):   Domesday Book
1st Identified Map Depiction (None):   1st Ed. OS
Other (None):   Surface finds

Interior Features

No surface evidence or investigations, interior has been ploughed.

Water Source

None

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

Surface finds of pottery, Iron Age

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

Original entrance at SE corner (8m gap in rampart), four other gaps not original

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
5:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (South east):   Simple gap c8m wide at SE

Enclosing Works

A single rampart and ditch around the entire circuit, possible counterscarp bank. Rampart contains stone, and survives up to c.4m high and c.10m wide at the NW, ploughed away along the E side bit still visible as c.1m high rise, ditch is c.0.6m deep and c.12m wide on W side and shows as a crop mark along the E.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   2.4ha.
Total:   2.4ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

A single rampart and ditch around the whole circuit, evidence for a possible counterscarp bank on the W.

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✓   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   1
SE Quadrant:   1
SW Quadrant:   1
NW Quadrant:   1
Total:   1

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

Rubble and earthen bank on the W side, possible counterscarp.

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:
✓   Single ditch all around.

Number of Ditches:  1

Annex:
✗   None

References

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, 311.

Sutton, J.E.G. 1966. Iron-Age hill-forts and some other earthworks in Oxfordshire, Oxoniensia, 31, 28-42.



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


Document Version 1.1