LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Cornwall and Scilly MCO6586 (60603)
NMR: SX 09 SE 6 (432078)
SM: None
NGR: SX092912
X: 209200 Y: 91200 (OSGB36)
Large promontory fort located on prominant W-facing coastal headland just S of Boscastle Harbour and Eastern Blackapit inlet and just N of Western Blackapit inlet. S of Penally Point and W of Forrabury Common. Steep sea cliffs/slopes to NE and W sides, encloses 1ha of undulating headland plus c. 2ha of very steep N-facing coastal slope. 110m straight bank cuts off promontory on SE, indistinct at SW end with no visible ditch, becoming strong (to 1.8m high) with 0.8m deep outer ditch at foot of steep slopes at its NE cliff-top end. Undulating interior and little investigated. An old footpath, which cuts through bank (present path runs over bank), probably original entrance. Described by Maclean 1873 as unfinished. Coastal grassland and bare rock predominate. On 1st Ed. OS map (1884).
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -523499 Y: 6566469 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -4.702668977099132 Latitude: 50.68902234314 (EPSG:4326)
Country: England
Current County or Unitary Authority: Cornwall
Historic County: Cornwall
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Forrabury and Minster
Coastal erosion but fair condition.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✓ |
Coastal grassland and bare rock.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✗ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✓ |
| Other | ✗ |
Large promontory fort (aka cliff castle) on prominant W-facing coastal headland just S of Boscatle Harbour and Eastern Blackapit inlet and just N of Western Blackapit inlet. S of Penally Point and W of Forrabury Common.
| Contour Fort | ✗ |
| Partial Contour Fort | ✗ |
| Promontory Fort | ✓ |
| Hillslope Fort | ✗ |
| Level Terrain Fort | ✗ |
| Marsh Fort | ✗ |
| Multiple Enclosure Fort | ✗ |
Located on an undulating coastal slope
| Hilltop | ✗ |
| Coastal Promontory | ✓ |
| Inland Promontory | ✗ |
| Valley Bottom | ✗ |
| Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop | ✗ |
| Ridge | ✗ |
| Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp | ✗ |
| Hillslope | ✗ |
| Lowland | ✗ |
| Spur | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature: Coastal headland.
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✓ |
| Level | ✗ |
Altitude: 60.0m
N/A
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 |
First described by J. Maclean 1876. On 1st Ed. OS map (1884). Field investigation Ordnance Survey 1976. Mapped by NMP - no date.
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1876): | First described by J. Maclean. |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1884): | OS map. |
| Other (1976): | Field investigation OS. |
| Other (None): | Mapped by NMP. |
None.
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 | ✗ |
None
| 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 | ✗ |
Old footpath which cuts through the bank (present path runs over the bank) probably indicates original entrance.
| 1: | Footpath may indicate the original entrance |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (South east): | None |
110m straight bank cuts off the promontory on the SE, fairly indistinct at its SW end with no visible ditch, becoming strong (up to 1.8m high) with an 0.8m deep outer ditch at the foot of steep slopes at its NE cliff-top end.
| Area 1: | 3.0ha. |
| Total: | 3.0ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 0 |
| SE Quadrant: | 1 |
| SW Quadrant: | 0 |
| NW Quadrant: | 0 |
| Total: | 1 |
| Partial Univallate | ✓ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
Described by Maclean 1873 as unfinished (possible only and modern interpretation required).
| 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 |
| ✓ | Deep outer ditch in part. |
Number of Ditches: 1
| ✗ | None |
Fox, A. 1962. Southern Britain in the Iron Age, 38.
Maclean, J. 1873. A Parochial and Family History of the Deanery of Trigg Minor, Vol 1, London: Nicholls and Sons.
Page, W. ed. 1906. The Victoria History of the County of Cornwall, 1, London: James Street, 460.
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