LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Cornwall and Scilly MCO47 (4319)
NMR: SX 06 NE 21 (431339)
SM: 106660
NGR: SX08556580
X: 208550 Y: 65800 (OSGB36)
Large, multivallate contour hillfort sited on summit of prominent hill forming watershed between tributaries of Rivers Camel and Fowey. Steep surrounding slopes on E and SE, less so on SW and W and moderate on N. Oval shape enclosing 6.3ha. Defined by two closely concentric ramparts with ditches. Outer ditch to 1m deep, rampart up to 3m high and both best preserved in SW quadrant. Inner rampart and ditch largely buried features or scarp slopes to 0.4m high. Hillfort lay in open moorland when first recorded in 1813, but had been enclosed and divided by field boundaries by 1849, and even then inner rampart survived only as a low bank. Geophysical survey in 1980's revealed interior settlement features and traces of inner rampart and ditch. Possible SW entrance, but many gaps in ramparts. Plough damage. The outer defences underlie modern field boundaries which also cross the centre of the hillfort dividing it into quarters with a 19th century field barn and a later water tank at the centre. It is also cut by a road to NW. Nevertheless, one of the largest hillforts in Cornwall surviving well. First mentioned in 1478 - no details. On 1st Ed. OS map (1981). Undated.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -523066 Y: 6526436 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -4.698782352242009 Latitude: 50.46063928987112 (EPSG:4326)
Country: England; None
Current County or Unitary Authority: Cornwall
Historic County: Cornwall
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Bodmin; Lanhydrock
Surrounded by development (Bodmin). Plough damage. The outer defences underlie modern field boundaries which also cross the centre of the hillfort dividing it into quarters with a 19th century field barn and a later water tank at the centre. It is also cut by a road to NW. Nevertheless, one of the largest hillforts in Cornwall surviving well.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✓ |
Pasture, road and developments.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✓ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✓ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✓ |
Large, multivallate contour hillfort sited on summit of prominent hill forming watershed between tributaries of Rivers Camel and Fowey. Steep surrounding slopes on E and SE, less so on SW and W and moderate on N.
| Contour Fort | ✓ |
| Partial Contour Fort | ✗ |
| Promontory Fort | ✗ |
| Hillslope Fort | ✗ |
| Level Terrain Fort | ✗ |
| Marsh Fort | ✗ |
| Multiple Enclosure Fort | ✗ |
Sited on a knoll, the south side steep
| Hilltop | ✓ |
| Coastal Promontory | ✗ |
| Inland Promontory | ✗ |
| Valley Bottom | ✗ |
| Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop | ✗ |
| Ridge | ✗ |
| Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp | ✗ |
| Hillslope | ✗ |
| Lowland | ✗ |
| Spur | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature: Hill top
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✓ |
Altitude: 166.0m
Parish boundary just to S
Boundary Type: Parish/Townland
None
Reliability: D - None
| Pre 1200BC | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50 | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400 | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800 | ✗ |
| Post AD800 | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✓ |
| Pre Hillfort: | None |
| Post Hillfort: | None |
Mention in 1478 - no details. Recorded 1813 - no details. Surveyed in 1847 by H. MacLauchlan. On 1st Ed. OS map (1981). Field investigation Ordnance Survey 1974. Watching Brief - Cornwall County Council, 1975. Ancient Monuments Laboratory Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission magnetometer and MS survey 1985.
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1478): | Mentioned - no details. |
| Other (1813): | Recorded - no details. |
| Other (1847): | Surveyed in 1847 by H. MacLauchlan |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1881): | OS map. |
| Other (1970): | OS survey. |
| Other (1974): | Field investigation OS. |
| Other (1975): | Watching Brief - Cornwall County Council, |
| Geophysical Survey (1985): | AMLBMC magnetometer and MS survey. |
Geophysical survey in 1980's revealed interior settlement features and traces of inner rampart and ditch.
None
| None | ✓ |
| Spring | ✗ |
| Stream | ✗ |
| Pool | ✗ |
| Flush | ✗ |
| Well | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| No Known Features | ✓ |
| Round Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Rectangular Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Curvilinear Platforms | ✗ |
| Other Roundhouse Evidence | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| No Known Excavation | ✓ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
| Nothing Found | ✗ |
Geophysical survey in 1980's revealed interior settlement features and traces of inner rampart and ditch.
| No Known Geophysics | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✓ |
| Nothing Found | ✗ |
None
| No Known Finds | ✓ |
| Pottery | ✗ |
| Metal | ✗ |
| Metalworking | ✗ |
| Human Bones | ✗ |
| Animal Bones | ✗ |
| Lithics | ✗ |
| Environmental | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| APs Not Checked | ✓ |
| None | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Possible SW entrance, but many gaps in ramparts.
| None: | Many gaps total not defined. |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (South west): | None |
Defined by two closely concentric ramparts with ditches. Outer ditch to 1m deep, rampart up to 3m high and both best preserved in SW quadrant. Inner rampart and ditch largely buried features or scarp slopes to 0.4m high.
| Area 1: | 6.3ha. |
| Total: | 6.3ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✓ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SE Quadrant: | 2 |
| SW Quadrant: | 2 |
| NW Quadrant: | 2 |
| Total: | 2 |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✓ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
None
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✓ |
| Stone Wall | ✗ |
| Rubble | ✗ |
| Wall-walk | ✗ |
| Evidence of Timber | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✗ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✗ |
| Stone Wall | ✗ |
| Murus Duplex | ✗ |
| Timber-framed | ✗ |
| Timber-laced | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✗ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| No Known Excavation | ✓ |
| Other | ✗ |
| ✗ | None |
| ✓ | Outer ditch to 1m deep, rampart up to 3m high and both best preserved in SW quadrant. Inner rampart and ditch largely buried features or scarp slopes to 0.4m high. |
Number of Ditches: 2
| ✗ | None |
Bartlett, A. 1985. Magnetometer survey at Castle Canyke, Bodmin, Ancient Monuments Laboratory Reports, English Heritage.
MacLaughlan, H. 1849. Annual Report, J Royal Inst Cornwall, 31, 20-21.
Page, W. ed. 1906. The Victoria History of the County of Cornwall, 1, London: James Street, 459-60.
Atlas of Hillforts:
Wikidata:
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
Document Version 1.1