Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN0171 Idbury Camp, Gloucestershire

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Oxfordshire 1448 (MOX292)

NMR:  SP 21 NW 2 (332307)

SM:  1014558

NGR:  SP 22874 19543

X:  422885  Y:  219555  (OSGB36)

Summary

SW of Idbury, on the E side of a hill/ridge with good views to E, S and W. On the 1st Ed. OS map, in Plot (1705). Univallate with a single ditch for entire circuit, roughly oval enclosing 3.5ha. Whole site is severely ploughed out but visible on aerial photographs, the bank surviving to c.10m wide and 0.4m high maximum, ditch c15m wide. Many limestone slabs follow the line of the ramparts on the surface suggesting stone revetting. A possible short length of counterscarp bank shows on the aerial photograph at the N but unconfirmed. S single entrance on the NW, appears to be in-turned. Minimal investigations but Iron Age and Romano-British pottery, metalwork and bone reported as surface finds within and around the hillfort.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -185792  Y:  6777385  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -1.6690002530197108  Latitude:  51.87405784314186  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Oxfordshire

Historic County:  Gloucestershire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Idbury

Monument Condition

None

Condition:
Extant   ✗
Cropmark   ✓
Likely Destroyed   ✗

Land Use

Virtually ploughed away, rampart to a maximum of 0.4m high

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 E side of hilltop/ridge with steep slopes to W and lesser slopes to E and S.

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:  Good views to E, S and W

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

Altitude:  198.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

Iron Age and Romano-British pottery, surface finds.

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:   surface finds of Iron Age pottery
Morphology/Earthwork/Typology:   Hillfort morphology and setting

Investigation History

On the 1st Ed. OS map, in Plot (1705)

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1705):   Plot
1st Identified Map Depiction (None):   1st Ed. OS

Interior Features

No evidence for internal features. Only surface finds of Iron Age and Romano-British pottery, metalwork and (animal?) bone found within and around the enclosure.

Water Source

Possible water hole shows on aerial photograph outside the entrance at the NW

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

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

A single entrance shows on aerial photography at the NW, looks to be slightly in-turned

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
None:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. In-turned (North west):   Slightly in-turned

Enclosing Works

Univallate with a single ditch for the entire circuit, bank now c.10m wide and 0.4m high maximum, ditch c15m wide. many limestone slabs follow the line of the ramparts on the surface suggesting stone revetting. A possible short length of counterscarp bank shows on the aerial photograph at the N but unconfirmed.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   3.5ha.
Total:   3.5ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✓   Possible counterscarp bank to NW but uncertain

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

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

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:
✓   None

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, 315.

Plot, R. 1705. The natural history of Oxfordshire, 341.

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

Steane, J. 1981. Idbury. S Midlands Archaeol, 79.



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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