Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN0566 Castle Hill Camp, Northumberland (Howtel Castle Hill)

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Northumberland 871 (None)

NMR:  NT 83 SE 26 (1249)

SM:  1006470

NGR:  NT 8989 3315

X:  389892  Y:  633154  (OSGB36)

Summary

Lying 800m to the S of Howtel, the remains of a large, univallate enclosure, probably a hillfort. The site is now destroyed in the E but is shown on historic OS mapping as circular. It was estimated by Hogg (1979) as enclosing 0.6ha. It lies at 190m OD on a N-facing slope with ground dropping away steeply in the W and N, relatively level in the E, but rising in the SE towards Housedon Hill. It survives in the N as a bank approximately 1.6m high and a shallow ditch and is still traceable in the S and W but greatly reduced. A slight causeway midway across the arc in the N might be the location of the entrance. There is no surface evidence for internal occupation. The site is shown as partially destroyed on 1856-65 OS mapping. A field wall running NE to SW cuts through the centre of the enclosure. It has not been investigated and is undated.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -240666  Y:  7477609  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -2.161935553109283  Latitude:  55.59194711905261  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Northumberland

Historic County:  Northumberland

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Kilham

Monument Condition

Damaged and reduced by ploughing, destroyed in the E. Heritage at Risk register - moderate animal burrowing.

Condition:
Extant   ✓
Cropmark   ✓
Likely Destroyed   ✗

Land Use

Lies within two fields, pasture in N, arable in S

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 hillslope fort lying at 190m OD on a north-westerly-facing slope

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:  N-facing slope

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

Altitude:  190.0m

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

Shown on 1856-65 OS mapping and recorded in Berwickshire Naturalists Club in 1919-22. Field investigations in 1966. Scheduled

Investigations:
Other (1966):   Field investigation
1st Identified Map Depiction (None):   None
1st Identified Written Reference (None):   None
Other (None):   Scheduled

Interior Features

No internal features are known. It has been cultivated

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

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 slight causeway midway across the arc in the N might be the location of the entrance.

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
1:   Possible break

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. Other Forms (North):   Causeway across ditch

Enclosing Works

Now destroyed in the E but shown on historic OS mapping as circular, estimated by Hogg (1979) as 0.6ha. It survives in the N as a bank approximately 1.6m high and a shallow ditch and is still traceable in the S and W but greatly reduced.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.6ha.
Total:   0.6ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   Rampart in the S can be seen as a slight vegetation mark on satellite imagery

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   Documented but now destroyed in the E

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

Hogg, A.H.A.1979. British Hill-Forts. An Index. British Archaeological Reports, British Series 62.

Jobey, G.1965. Hillforts and Settlements in Northumberland. Archaeol Aeliana (4th Series) 43

MacLauchlan, H. 1919-22. Notes on camps in the parishes of Branxton, Carham, Ford, Kirknewton and Wooler in Northumberland. Hist Berwickshire Natur Club, 463



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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