Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN0580 Howick Hill Camp, Northumberland (Howick Haven)

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Northumberland 5669 (None)

NMR:  NU 21 NE 3 (8094)

SM:  1014056

NGR:  NU 25567 16307

X:  425567  Y:  616307  (OSGB36)

Summary

To the S of Sea Houses on the southern end of a spur, a small, almost circular enclosure, possibly a univallate hillfort with a maximum internal diameter of 50m, enclosing 0.2ha. The enclosing works comprise a slight, single rampart of earth and stone between 0.6-1.2m high and 8m wide, occupying a small rise. An external 7m wide ditch was noted in the NE in the 19th century which is now partially infilled. An entrance with an inturned southern terminal lies in the E. A second narrow entrance in the W which gives access to a stream, might be contemporary with the enclosure. There are no known internal features The site has not been excavated but Roman swords and 'ancient' coins were discovered during ploughing c. 1817. Geophysical surveys were carried out in 2002 (Biggins et al. 2002). Shown on 1856-65 OS mapping.

Status

Citizen Science:  

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -177825  Y:  7447736  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -1.5974330535721724  Latitude:  55.440011923831236  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Northumberland

Historic County:  Northumberland

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Longhoughton

Monument Condition

None

Condition:
Extant  
Cropmark  
Likely Destroyed  

Land Use

Ploughed in the past

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

Lying at 22m OD on level ground on the southern end of a spur

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:  Southern end of a spur

Aspect:
North  
Northeast  
East  
Southeast  
South  
Southwest  
West  
Northwest  
Level  

Altitude:  22.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

Undated presumed Iron Age, with secondary activity

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:
Artefactual:   Roman artefacts recovered during ploughing

Investigation History

Shown on 1856-65 OS mapping. Recorded by Jobey (1965). Field investigation in 1955 and 1969; Geophysical surveys were carried out in 2002 (Biggins et al. 2002). Scheduled

Investigations:
Other (1955):   Field investigation
1st Identified Written Reference (1965):   None
Other (1968):   Scheduled
Other (1969):   Field investigation
Geophysical Survey (2002):   None
1st Identified Map Depiction (None):   None

Interior Features

No known features; cultivated over

Water Source

Water source to the W

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

Nothing recorded

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

Two possible contemporary entrances In the E an entrance with an inturned terminal in the S and a narrower entrance in the W

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
2:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  

Chevaux de Frise:  

Entrances:
1. In-turned (East):   Inturned in the S
1. Simple Gap (East):   None
2. Simple Gap (West):   None

Enclosing Works

A slight, single rampart of earth and stone construction between 0.6-1.2m high and 8m wide. An external 7m wide ditch was noted in the NE in the 19th century which is now partially infilled.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.2ha.
Total:   0.2ha.

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:   None
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

Biggins, J A, Waddington, C and Johnson, B 30/07/2002 A Geophysical Survey of an Iron Age Defended Settlement at Howick Haven, Northumberland, July 2002. Unpublished

Hogg, A.H.A. 1979. British Hill-Forts. An Index. British Archaeological Reports, British Series 62; 126

Jobey, G.1965. Hillforts and Settlements in Northumberland. Archaeol Aeliana (4th Series) 43, 63 no. 113



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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