Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN0153 Knollbury Camp, Oxfordshire (Knoll Bury Roman Camp; Knollberry, Banks)

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Oxfordshire 1548 (334982)

NMR:  SP 32 SW 2 (None)

SM:  1015322

NGR:  SP 3164 2301

X:  431635  Y:  223005  (OSGB36)

Summary

NE of Chadlington, situated on a slope a roughly rectangular enclosure with N side curved outwards. Enclosed area is 180m NW to SE and 100m SW to NE, enclosing 1.4ha. Mentioned in Stukeley's Itinerarium Curiosum Vol. 1, on 1st Ed. OS map. Univallate with a single ditch for it's entire circuit, rampart with steep faces standing to c.10m wide and between 1.4m and 4m high with rubble and dry-stone revetting facing of limestone slabs on the outer face showing at the NE. Ditch infilled but c.10m wide. Several modern gaps through the rampart, much of the SE rampart is missing and it is assumed the original entrance was here. Now arable but the interior has been ploughed in the past. No excavation, a geophysical survey shows internal features including one possible roundhouse.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✓

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -171609  Y:  6782903  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -1.541588767403618  Latitude:  51.90464981192267  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Oxfordshire

Historic County:  Oxfordshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Chadlington

Monument Condition

None

Condition:
Extant   ✓
Cropmark   ✗
Likely Destroyed   ✗

Land Use

Upstanding earthwork for the entire circuit, now pasture but has been ploughed in the interior and around.

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

On a gentle slope, long axis downslope, no relationship with contours

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:  No

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

Altitude:  167.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

No evidence but probably Iron Age

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

Mentioned in Stukeley's Itinerarium Curiosum Vol. 1, on 1st Ed. OS map. No excavation, no surface finds. Geophysical survey (Bournemouth University).

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1776):   Stukeley's Itinerarium Curiosum Vol. 1.
Geophysical Survey (2000):   Sherwood.
1st Identified Map Depiction (None):   1st Ed. OS

Interior Features

No excavation, possible pits, four-poster and one roundhouse shown by geophysics (mentioned in HER)

Water Source

None inside but three springs within 300m.

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

Possible pits, four-poster and one roundhouse (mentioned in HER)

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

Several modern gaps, entrance probably on the SE side although now destroyed

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
4:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (South east):   Entrance probably on the SE side although now destroyed

Enclosing Works

A single rampart around the entire circuit, steep faces, c10m wide and standing to 1.4m to 4m high, built of piled earth and oolite stone rubble behind a dry stone revetment of larger limestone slabs visible on the outer face at the NE. Single ditch, infilled but c10m wide.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   1.4ha.
Total:   1.4ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

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 dry-stone walling eroding from bank, especially to NE

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 around entire circuit, c10m wide

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, 317.

Sherwood G. 2001 REPORT ON THE GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY OF KNOLLBURY CAMP HILLFORT. Unpublished.

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


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