Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN2675 Grafton Hills, Yorkshire

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  North Yorkshire MNY18436 (None)

NMR:  SE 46 SW 5 (55292)

SM:  None

NGR:  SE 4190 6310

X:  441900  Y:  463100  (OSGB36)

Summary

To the S of Grafton village, a former small hillfort or palisaded enclosure sited on a saddle-shaped hill lying at 76m OD, now completely destroyed by quarrying. During an excavation in 1949 of the very limited remains of the site (Waterman et al. 1954) a stone-packed trench was identified considered to be foundations for a fence or possible palisade. Walls, hearths and animal bones and artefacts dating from the Neolithic to the Roman period were recovered including a considerable amount of pottery, some of which was described as 'Pottery with an Hallstatt influence' (Challis and Harding 1974). Air photographs examined for the Yorkshire Henges and their Environs Air Photo Mapping project show that there has been extensive disruption from gravel extraction in this area since at least 1945 and any surviving Iron Age earthworks could not be identified. A watching brief undertaken during ground disturbance caused by the erection of a building next to the water tower showed that the subsoil appeared to have been disturbed in recent times (Clarke 1993). The site was scheduled as Grafton Hills Iron Age Hill Fort but de-scheduled in 1998.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Irreconciled issues

Reliability of Interpretation:  Irreconciled issues

Location

X:  -151543  Y:  7181936  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -1.3613307949945792  Latitude:  54.06215153520068  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  North Yorkshire

Historic County:  Yorkshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Marton cum Grafton

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

No evidence, destroyed

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:  76.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

Iron Age 'A' type pottery, bronze tweezers, bronze bracelet, fragment, a fragment of jet, flint flakes, a fragment of a Mesolithic macehead, and, at higher levels occasional sherds of Roman pottery including 2nd century Samian ware

Reliability:  C - Low

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:
Artefactual:   None

Investigation History

Excavations in 1949

Investigations:
Excavation (1949):   None

Interior Features

No evidence for interior

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

No evidence for entrances

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

Limited excavation before the site was destroyed showed a stone-packed trench considered to be foundations for a fence or possible palisade

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

Challis A.J. and Harding, D.W. 1975. Later prehistory from the Trent to the Tyne. BAR British series1 (1974) - ii Page(s)3.

Clarke, A. 1993. Grafton Hills Iron Age Hillfort, Marton cum Grafton: Archaeological Watching Brief for British Telecom Cellular Radio . Alison Clarke, Archaeological Consultant. Northallerton

Waterman, D.M., Kent, B.W.J., Stickland H.J. 1954. Two Inland sites with "Iron Age A" Pottery in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The Yorkshire Arch J. 38, 383-394



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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