Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN0574 Burrowses Camp, Northumberland

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Northumberland 2026 (None)

NMR:  NT 93 SW 29 (3919)

SM:  None

NGR:  NT 9311 3063

X:  393110  Y:  630630  (OSGB36)

Summary

Lying 640m NW of Yeavering, in a field known as the Burrowses, the site of a former multivallate hillfort lying on a gravel spur at 52m OD. The site was recorded as a slight earthwork by MacLauchlan (1867) but was later bisected E-W by the former North East Railway line and destroyed in the N. The southern half is still visible in the SE as the cropmarks of three ditches spaced less than 10m apart. The ground slopes steeply away in the N and W and it is possible that only a single rampart was there. Cropmarks suggest it was circular and in its original form approximately 160m in diameter with an internal area of approximately 0.8ha. Not recorded on OS maps. Minimal investigations, undated.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Unconfirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -234974  Y:  7473154  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -2.110811776316521  Latitude:  55.56932460310163  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England; None

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Northumberland

Historic County:  Northumberland

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Kirknewton; Ewart

Monument Condition

None

Condition:
Extant   ✗
Cropmark   ✓
Likely Destroyed   ✓

Land Use

Railway line

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 former contour fort lying on a N-facing gravel spur at approximately 52m 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:  Gravel spur

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

Altitude:  52.0m

Boundary

Parish boundary between Kirknewton and Ewart runs to the N

Boundary Type:  Parish/Townland


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

Recorded by MacLauclan (1867). Field investigation 1967. Mapped from the air as part of the Milfield Geoarchaeology Project - archive object MD000295. Rog Palmer transcription in Passmore and Waddington (2012, 72)

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1867):   None
Other (1967):   Field investigation
Other (None):   Aerial transcription

Interior Features

No internal features recorded

Water Source

River Glen runs to the N.

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

Unknown

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
None:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

Destroyed in the N. The southern half is still visible in the SE as the cropmarks of three ditches spaced less than 10m apart.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.8ha.
Total:   0.8ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   Ditches only

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   None
SE Quadrant:   3
SW Quadrant:   None
NW Quadrant:   None
Total:   3

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:  3

Annex:
✗   None

References

MacLauchlan,H. 1867. Additional Notes to Memoir to Roman Roads in Northumberland. 45

Passmore, D.G. and Waddington, C. 2012. Archaeology and Environment in Northumberland. Till-Tweed studies, Vol 2. Oxbow



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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