Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN2040 S of Fenton Hill Camp, Northumberland

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

Scroll left/right to view further images.

HER:  Northumberland 1969 (None)

NMR:  NT 93 NE 33 (1373220)

SM:  None

NGR:  NT 9802 3504

X:  398020  Y:  635040  (OSGB36)

Summary

The cropmarks of a what is probably a circular bivallate hillfort or palisaded enclosure lying approximately 300m to the S of Fenton Hill Camp on a gentle S-facing slope (Passmore and Waddington 2012). The site lies across three arable fields and only the ditches in the NW can be seen. The diameter of the enclosure is estimated at 100m with the visible ditches about 4m in breadth and set some 5m apart to enclose in the region of 0.9ha. The presence of internal features and the location of any entrances is unknown. Cropmarks are visible on 2006 Google Earth satellite imagery. It is not recorded on historic OS mapping. Minimal investigations, undated.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Unconfirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -226311  Y:  7480968  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -2.032982838739989  Latitude:  55.60899616422039  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Northumberland

Historic County:  Northumberland

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Doddington

Monument Condition

Banks are ploughed down

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

A possible lowland hillfort lying at 71m OD on a gentle S-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:  S-facing slope

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

Altitude:  71.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

Undated

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

Mapped from the air as part of the Millfield Geoarchaeology Project - archive objects MD000294 and MD000296. Transcription in Passmore and Waddington (2012, 72)

Investigations:
Other (2012):   None

Interior Features

No internal features have been recorded

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

The location of entrances is not recorded

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

The ditches can only be seen in the NW. The diameter of the enclosure is estimated at 100m with within two ditches about 4m in breadth and set some 5m apart to enclose an area in the region of 0.9ha.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.95ha.
Total:   0.95ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   Internal area estimated by Gates at 0.95ha

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   Incomplete - probably due to incomplete cropmark formation

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   0
SE Quadrant:   2
SW Quadrant:   2
NW Quadrant:   2
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

The HER record describes the ditches as the remains of palisade trenches

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:
✓   Uncertain if ditch or palisade trench

Number of Ditches:  2

Annex:
✗   None

References

Passmore, D.G. and Waddington, C. 2012. Archaeology and Environment in Northumberland. Till-Tweed studies, Vol 2. Oxbow



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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