Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN1832 Braughing, Hertfordshire (Gatesbury Camp)

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Hertfordshire MHT87? (None)

NMR:  TL 3 2 SE 5? (367985?)

SM:  1005249?

NGR:  TL 3924 2404

X:  538810  Y:  224260  (OSGB36)

Summary

Situated between Puckeridge and Braughing, on high ground overlooking a bend in the River Rib, opposite to the possible hillfort in Gatesbury Wood (Atlas number 1833), close to a Romano-British town (NMR number 367978). This is an extensive area of pre-conquest, Belgic, and Romano-British activity, possibly an oppidum replaced by a Romano-British town. Many small and large-scale excavations have produced much material spanning the 1st century BC through the Roman period (Partridge 1980; Potter and Trow 1988), including the late iron Age and Roman cemetery at Skeleton Green (Partridge 1981). Not a hillfort but included here as a possible oppidum showing high-status long distance trade and intensive occupation (Bryant 2007) and because of its proximity to the site at Gatesbury Wood which may be related.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Unconfirmed

Location

X:  1795  Y:  6781984  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  0.016127181207953485  Latitude:  51.89955584496111  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Hertfordshire

Historic County:  Hertfordshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Braughing

Monument Condition

N/A as not a hillfort

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

N/A as not a hillfort

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:  None

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

Altitude:  Nonem

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

N/A as not a hillfort

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

N/A as not a hillfort

Investigations:No related records

Interior Features

N/A as not a hillfort

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

NO APPARENT FEATURES

Interior Features (Aerial):
APs Not Checked   ✓
None   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Pits   ✗
Postholes   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Other   ✗

Entrances

N/A as not a hillfort

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

N/A as not a hillfort

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

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   None
SE Quadrant:   None
SW Quadrant:   None
NW Quadrant:   None
Total:   None

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:  None

Annex:
✗   None

References

Bryant, S. 2007. Central places or special places? The origins and development of 'oppida' in Hertfordshire, in Haselgrove, C. and Moore, T. (eds) The Later Iron Age in Britain and Beyond. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 62-80.

Partridge, C. 1980. Excavations at Puckeridge and Braughing 1975-79. Hertfordshire Archaeol, 7, 28-132.

Partridge C. 1981. Skeleton Green. A late Iron Age and Romano-British site. London: Britannia Monograph Series, 2.

Potter, T.W. and Trow, S.D. 1988. Puckeridge-Braughing, Herts: the Ermine Street excavations, 1971-1972. The late Iron Age and Roman settlement. Hertfordshire Archaeol, 10.



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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