LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service 2 (None)
NMR: SE 11 SE 1 (49129)
SM: 1009846
NGR: SE 15231 14043
X: 415231 Y: 414043 (OSGB36)
Lying on an oval, steep-sided flat-topped hill to the S of Huddersfield, the site of a univallate and later bivallate and multivallate hillfort now overlain by the defences of a 12th century motte and bailey castle and DMV. The site was excavated in 1939, 1946-7, 1969-70 and 1972, briefly summarised by Varley (1948, 1973 and 1976). The earthworks of the hillfort were shown by radiocarbon (C14) and thermoluminescence (TL) dating to have been constructed in phases over a period of approximately two hundred years. The earliest univallate enclosure was constructed in the late seventh century BC on the south-western half of the hill as a single bank approximately 3m wide possibly surmounted by a wooden palisade and enclosing 2.2h. The bank comprised a clay core with vertical flagstones supported by a drystone wall. An in-turned entrance has been identified in the NE flanked by a guardroom to one side. This was followed by a period of abandonment, then an open settlement occupying the entire summit with stone-kerbed huts. In the early sixth century BC a box-constructed timber rampart employing vertical and horizontal timbers was constructed on top of and partially following the alignment of the original bank, and formed from two rows of vertical slabs set in trenches separated by 3m with internal cellular walls filled with clay. The core was topped with flagstones that had stone lined-posts at 3m intervals. Externally there was a berm and flat-bottomed ditch 3m wide 2m deep and an external bank. An entrance lay in the NE. Occupation floors inside the rampart provided C14 dates of 595 +/- 95 bc. In the mid-sixth century the enclosure was refortified by two further banks and ditches enclosing the whole summit of the hill (3.7ha) using the same construction method as the univallate fort which itself was further reinforced by additional walling at that time. Huts of this period have been identified within the enclosure C14 dated to 520 +/- 110 bc, 555 +/- 95 BC and 530 +/- 110 bc. An entrance lay in the NE. The earlier bank and ditch was reinforced by a second rampart and postholes provide evidence for timbers for a shelter attached to the rampart. Finally a multivallate phase with C14 dates of 450 +/- 130 bc and 460 +/- 130 bc, enclosing 12ha. The earlier rampart was levelled and widened to cover the berm and half of the ditch and a new wall constructed. A V-shaped ditch and counterscarp surrounded the summit with a third dump rampart in the E and a fourth bank aligned on an entrance in the E. A holloway extended downslope from the eastern entrance which ran through the outer rampart. At the western end of the hill the outer rampart turned inwards creating a second entrance. A fifth bank on a level berm below the eastern entrance considered by Varley to enclose an annex with hut foundations was resurveyed in 1995 by RCHME and is now thought to be a combination of natural scarps, field walls and lynchets and the alleged entrance probably a hollow way. Vitrification of the rampart has occurred and TL dated to 431 +/- 180 bc. It is uncertain if this was deliberate or through the spontaneous combustion of the Coal Measures shale bank, aided by the structural timbers in the revetment. The site was abandoned by the end of the 5th century bc. All features within the hillfort are medieval or modern. Now occupied by two 19th century buildings and associated car parks. An earlier farm complex has damaged part of the course of the inner ditch, the second rampart and the multivallations in the E. Traces of ridge and furrow are also visible. Now a public open space, modern footpaths have cut across the ramparts. The overlying features are recorded on 1854 1:10,560 OS mapping.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -197169 Y: 7099022 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -1.7711992850035134 Latitude: 53.62270038826175 (EPSG:4326)
Country: England
Current County or Unitary Authority: West Yorkshire
Historic County: Yorkshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Huddersfield
Hillfort ramparts lie under 12th century features.Gravel paths have been laid on the top of the medieval ramparts and across parts of the interior to combat visitor erosion.
| Extant | ✗ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✓ |
19th century buildings and car parks in the S with the remainder mainly under grass although parts of the ramparts are obscured by brambles and gorse
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✗ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✓ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✓ |
A contour fort lying on at 274m OD on the summit of an oval, relatively flat-topped hill.
| Contour Fort | ✓ |
| Partial Contour Fort | ✗ |
| Promontory Fort | ✗ |
| Hillslope Fort | ✗ |
| Level Terrain Fort | ✗ |
| Marsh Fort | ✗ |
| Multiple Enclosure Fort | ✗ |
| Hilltop | ✓ |
| Coastal Promontory | ✗ |
| Inland Promontory | ✗ |
| Valley Bottom | ✗ |
| Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop | ✗ |
| Ridge | ✗ |
| Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp | ✗ |
| Hillslope | ✗ |
| Lowland | ✗ |
| Spur | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature: Summit of hill. Oval, relatively flat-topped hill
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✓ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✗ |
Altitude: 274.0m
N/A
Radiocarbon and thermoluminescence dating has provided a sequence of dates for construction and occupation beginning in the late 7th century with a final date of 450 +/- 130 bc, followed by vitrification of the rampart TL dated to 431 +/- 180 bc (Varley 1973).
Reliability: A - High
| Pre 1200BC | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC | ✓ |
| 400BC - AD50 | ✓ |
| AD50 - AD400 | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800 | ✗ |
| Post AD800 | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Pre Hillfort: | None |
| Post Hillfort: | None |
| Artefactual: | Three small pieces of Iron Age pottery |
| C14: | None |
The location is recorded on 1854 1:10,560 OS mapping. General reference in VCH York (1912). Field investigation in 1964. Excavations in 1939, 1946-7, 1969-70 and 1972 (Varley 1948, 1973 and 1976). RCHME survey, ref. no. 972473. 1995 geophysical survey. Further geophysical survey 2012-13 (ADS Grey Lit. Library. OASIS no: archaeol11-145385). Scheduled
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1854): | None |
| 1st Identified Written Reference (1912): | None |
| Other (1925): | Scheduled |
| Other (1964): | Field investigation |
| Other (1979): | Visit by Hillfort Study Group |
| Geophysical Survey (1995): | Webb and Whittingham. |
| Excavation (None): | None |
| Earthwork Survey (None): | None |
| Geophysical Survey (None): | Archaeological Services WYAS |
Stone kerbed huts relating to the phase of open settlement in the late seventh century BC. Later huts have been identified within the enclosure C14 dated to 520 +/- 110 bc, 555 +/- 95 BC and 530 +/- 110 bc.
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 | ✗ |
The earliest univallate enclosure had an in-turned entrance in the NE flanked by a guardroom to one side. In the early sixth century BC a box-constructed timber rampart with an entrance in the NE. In the mid-sixth century the enclosure was refortified by two banks and ditches enclosing the whole summit of the hill. An entrance lay in the NE. Finally a multivallate phase and a fourth bank aligned on an entrance in the E. A holloway extended downslope from the eastern entrance running through the outer rampart. At the western end of the hill the outer rampart turned inwards creating a second entrance.
| 6: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✓
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. In-turned (North east): | In-turned entrance in univallate rampart |
| 1. Recesses/Guard Chambers (North east): | Univallate rampart |
| 2. Simple Gap (North east): | Box ramparts |
| 3. Simple Gap (North east): | Bivallate phase - inner rampart |
| 3. Simple Gap (North east): | Bivallate phase - outer rampart |
| 4. Simple Gap (East): | Multivallate phase outer rampart |
| 5. In-turned (West): | Outer rampart |
Univallate in the earliest phase in the late seventh century BC comprising a single bank approximately 3m wide possibly surmounted by a wooden palisade and enclosing 2.2h. The bank comprised a clay core with vertical flagstones supported by a drystone wall. In the early sixth century BC a box-constructed timber rampart employing vertical and horizontal timbers constructed on top of and partially following the alignment of the original bank, and formed from two rows of vertical slabs set in trenches separated by 3m with internal cellular walls filled with clay. The core was topped with flagstones that had stone lined-posts at 3m intervals. Externally there was a berm and flat-bottomed ditch 3m wide 2m deep and an external bank. In the mid-sixth century the enclosure was refortified by two further banks and ditches enclosing the whole summit of the hill (3.7ha) using the same construction method as the univallate fort which itself was further reinforced by additional walling at that time. The earlier bank and ditch was reinforced by a second rampart and postholes provide evidence for timbers for a shelter attached to the rampart. Finally a multivallate phase with C14 dates of 450 +/- 130 bc and 460 +/- 130 bc, enclosing 12ha. The earlier rampart was levelled and widened to cover the berm and half of the ditch and a new wall constructed. A V-shaped ditch and counterscarp surrounded the summit with a third dump rampart in the E and a fourth bank aligned on an entrance in the E. Vitrification of the rampart has occurred and TL dated to 431 +/- 180 bc. It is uncertain if this was deliberate or through the spontaneous combustion of the Coal Measures shale bank, aided by the structural timbers in the revetment.
| Area 1: | 2.2ha. |
| Area 2: | 3.7ha. |
| Total: | 3.7ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✓ | None |
| ✓ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 3 |
| SE Quadrant: | 4 |
| SW Quadrant: | 3 |
| NW Quadrant: | 3 |
| Total: | 4 |
| 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 |
| ✓ | None |
Number of Ditches: 3
| ✗ | None |
RCHME 1996. Castle Hill, Almondbury, West Yorkshire. Archaeological Survey Report (Part I)
Jecock, M. 1995. Castle Hill (Almondbury) Survey. RCHME: 04-JUL-1995
Varley, W. J. 1948. The hillforts of the Welsh Marches. Archaeol J . Royal Archaeological Institute, 105, 146-7
Varley, W.J. 1973. Castle Hill, Almondbury. A brief guide to the excavations 1939-1972. Huddersfield 1973.
Varley, W. J, 1976. A summary of the excavations at Castle Hill, Almondbury, 1939-72 in D.W. Harding (ed), Hillforts: later prehistoric earthworks in Britain and Ireland, 119-31 and 402-07.
Webb A and Whittingham M, 1998. Castle Hill, Almondbury, West Yorkshire: Geophysical Survey Archaeological Services. WYAS 604.
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