Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN1065 Conundrum South, Northumberland (Halidon Hill Iron Age Fort)

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Northumberland 23839 (None)

NMR:  NT 95 SE 88 (1384294)

SM:  None

NGR:  NT 9842 5473

X:  398420  Y:  654730  (OSGB36)

Summary

On the E facing slopes of Halidon Hill, the cropmark remains of a possible hillfort, identified as Conundrum South by Gates and Deegan (2009) and as Halidon HIll Iron Age Fort by Northumberland HER. The site was first identified on an aerial photograph taken in 1992 (Glover 2006), satellite imagery taken in 2006 shows an area of many geological features which confuses the interpretation. It lies at approximately 100m OD with the ground rising to the W. Elsewhere it slopes away in all directions especially in the E. The cropmark comprises an arc of two curvilinear ditches 9m apart, the inner measuring some 5m in breadth. The remainder of the feature is now under modern plantation. The site is unrecorded on OS mapping. No investigation of the site has been carried out and it is undated.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Unconfirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -225617  Y:  7515916  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -2.026753851389641  Latitude:  55.785918415864984  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Northumberland

Historic County:  Northumberland

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Berwick upon Tweed

Monument Condition

None

Condition:
Extant   ✗
Cropmark   ✓
Likely Destroyed   ✗

Land Use

None

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

The remains of a possible hillslope fort lying at 100m OD on an E-facing slope

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:  E-facing slope

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

Altitude:  100.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

Undated, presumed Iron Age

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

Identified from an aerial photograph taken in 1992 Glover 2006).

Investigations:
Other (1992):   20/7/1982 NT9655 A-D Museum of Antiquities Newcastle; NMR NT 9854/22 (13970/6) 10-JUL-1992

Interior Features

No internal features visible. The majority of the site lies within modern plantation

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

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

Fragments of two curvilinear ditches 9m apart

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   Noneha.
Total:   Noneha.

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:   2
SW Quadrant:   None
NW Quadrant:   None
Total:   2

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:  2

Annex:
✗   None

References

Gates, T. and Deegan, A. 2009. Monuments in the Landscape, in Passmore and Waddington, Archaeology and Environment in Northumberland: Twill-Tweed Studies: Vol 1, 125-171.

Glover, G, 2006. Archaeology in Northumberland Vol. 16, 16-18



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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