Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN0605 Blacketon Rings, Cornwall (Blacketon Camp)

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Cornwall and Scilly MCO31 (10375)

NMR:  SX 26 SE 10 (435076)

SM:  1007296

NGR:  SX 2934 6016

X:  229346  Y:  60163  (OSGB36)

Summary

Small, slight, but commanding, univallate hillfort with outworks, located on summit of prominent hill, forming watershed between two tributaries of River Seaton. Surrounding slopes steep, then very steep to wooded stream valleys on E, W and S, less so on N. Oval site enclosing 0.8ha defined by rampart, to the E to 1.2m high incorporated into hedge bank, to W scarp to 8m wide with faint traces of a bank. Ditch survives as buried feature, only visible for short length on N side. An outwork survives to W, but only as field boundary bank and buried outer ditch. To NE and E rampart and ditch cut into by farm buildings. Outworks not concentric with line of inner rampart. A 30m gap to S probably an entrance. Site much damaged by farm and plough. On 1st Ed. OS map (1882).

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -490196  Y:  6518706  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -4.403503941733989  Latitude:  50.41641216994788  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Cornwall

Historic County:  Cornwall

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Menheniot

Monument Condition

Much damaged site, with farm in NE quadrant. On Heritage at Risk Register (2015).

Condition:
Extant   ✓
Cropmark   ✗
Likely Destroyed   ✓

Land Use

Farmed.

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

Small, slight, but commanding, univallate hillfort with outworks, located on summit of prominent hill, forming watershed between two tributaries of River Seaton. Surrounding slopes steep, then very steep to wooded stream valleys on E, W and S, less so on N.

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:  Hill top

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

Altitude:  100.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

None

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

On 1st Ed. OS map (1882). Site investigation Ordnance Survey 1970. Watching Brief - Cornwall County Council 1997.

Investigations:
1st Identified Map Depiction (1882):   OS map
Other (1970):   Site investigation OS.
Other (1997):   Watching Brief - Cornwall County Council.

Interior Features

None

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 30m gap to S probably an entrance.

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
1:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (South):   None

Enclosing Works

Oval site defined by rampart, to the E to 1.2m high incorporated into hedge bank, to W scarp to 8m wide with faint traces of a bank. Ditch survives as buried feature, only visible for short length on N side. An outwork survives to W, but only as field boundary bank and buried outer ditch. To NE and E rampart and ditch cut into by farm buildings. Outworks not concentric with line of inner rampart.

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:
✗   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   0
SE Quadrant:   0
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:
✓   Ditch survives as buried feature, only visible for short length on N side.

Number of Ditches:  1

Annex:
✗   None

References

Thomas, N. 1998. Blacketon Rings, Menheniot, Cornwall: an archaeological investigation, Unpublished assessment and evaluation report, Cornwall Archaeological Unit, Cornwall County Council.



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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