Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN0474 West Wylam, Northumberland

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Northumberland 27219 (None)

NMR:  NZ 16 SW 90 (1443439)

SM:  None

NGR:  NZ 10568 63566

X:  410568  Y:  563566  (OSGB36)

Summary

On a steep scarp slope in West Wylam on the south bank of the River Tyne, a hillfort visible as earthworks on aerial photographs taken in 1959 but now destroyed. The site comprises two banks and two ditches which extend for 85m across the edge of the slope in the SW. Only a partial circuit of the defences are present on aerial photographs suggesting it was possibly a promontory fort. It appears to have a single, inturned entrance. A rectilinear enclosure 52m by 37m is visible within the interior but its function is unknown. A series of banks of uncertain date lie to the south. Photography taken in 1993 shows the earthworks to be levelled by later landscaping.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Irreconciled issues

Location

X:  -204434  Y:  7355393  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -1.8364598233713085  Latitude:  54.96663142896183  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Northumberland

Historic County:  Northumberland

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Prudhoe

Monument Condition

None

Condition:
Extant   ✗
Cropmark   ✗
Likely Destroyed   ✓

Land Use

A car park and rough grassland lie in the approximate location of the hillfort

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 possible promontory fort lying on a scarp slope at 53m OD

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:  Scarp slope

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

Altitude:  53.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

Undated

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

The site was identified from an aerial photograph during the Hadrian's Wall WHS Mapping Project

Investigations:
Other (None):   RAF 58/2685/F21 302 23-JAN-1959

Interior Features

Rectilinear enclosure 52m by 37m, date and function unknown. This is possibly the same feature shown on 1937-61 1:25,000 OS map and as Broom House on the 1885-1903 one-inch OS

Water Source

None

Source:
None   ✓
Spring   ✗
Stream   ✗
Pool   ✗
Flush   ✗
Well   ✗
Other   ✗

Surface

Destroyed

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

Rectilinear feature

Interior Features (Aerial):
APs Not Checked   ✗
None   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Pits   ✗
Postholes   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Other   ✓

Entrances

Single in-turned entrance in S-W

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
1:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. In-turned (South west):   None

Enclosing Works

Two banks and two ditches 85m in length

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   Noneha.
Total:   Noneha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   Area unknown

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   None
SE Quadrant:   None
SW Quadrant:   2
NW Quadrant:   None
Total:   2

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

Destroyed

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:
✓   Two ditches in the SW

Number of Ditches:  2

Annex:
✗   None

References

Oakey, M. 2009. Hadrian's Wall WHS: NMP Project: NMP summary report. Report No 73-2009. Centre for Archaeology Report series. Unpublished



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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