LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: North Yorkshire MNY20696 (None)
NMR: NZ 11 SE 2 (21862)
SM: 1016199
NGR: NZ 18338 12130
X: 418338 Y: 512130 (OSGB36)
A multi-period site at Stanwick forming part of an archaeological landscape of Iron Age defences within which the later village of Stanwick St John now sits. Late Iron Age barrows, evidence of early Christian occupation, a medieval church, an Anglo-Danish cross shaft, the remains of a medieval farm and field systems, medieval and post-medieval earthworks at Forcett and the remains of 18th century emparkment. It comprises a substantial bank and external ditch enclosing 310ha, sub-divided into 60ha in the N and 250ha in the S. Excavation by Wheeler in 1951-2 showed that the bank had a drystone revetment with the ditch cut into the bedrock in places. The defences survive up to 30m wide. The excavations produced pottery including Brigantian and Samian ware, an Iron Age sword and ash wood scabbard, a severed human skull and miscellaneous objects of wood, metal, bone and basketwork, and he believed it to be the stronghold of Venutius (Wheeler 1954). He also partially reconstructed a 3m length of the stone revetment to a height of 0.6m above the existing rampart, which is now preserved in-situ by English Heritage. Further excavations and fieldwork were carried out from 1981 by Durham University (Haselgrove 2016), who argue for a mid-first century AD date for the construction of the huge outer circuit, with the inner area later sub-divided. They believe the 10km length would be impossible to defend and was intended to emphasise the power, prestige and wealth of its owner. They concluded that Stanwick had not been the fortress stronghold of Venutius but the estate of his ex-wife, Queen Cartimandua, possibly even the original tribal capital of the Brigantes. It is included here as a possible oppidum.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Unconfirmed
X: -191283 Y: 7266225 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -1.718321777587198 Latitude: 54.50417162196927 (EPSG:4326)
Country: England; None
Current County or Unitary Authority: North Yorkshire
Historic County: Yorkshire
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Stanwick St. John; Aldbrough, Forcett and Carkin, Melsonby,
Under the custodianship of English Heritage
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
None
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✗ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
N/A as a hillfort
| 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: None
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✗ |
Altitude: Nonem
crossed by the parish boundaries of Aldbrough, Forcett and Carkin, Melsonby, Stanwick St. John
Boundary Type: Parish/Townland
The site is undated, Brigantian and Samian ware, an Iron Age sword and ash wood scabbard, a severed human skull and miscellaneous objects of wood, metal, bone and basketwork have been recovered
Reliability: D - None
| Pre 1200BC | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50 | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400 | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800 | ✗ |
| Post AD800 | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✓ |
| Pre Hillfort: | None |
| Post Hillfort: | None |
| Artefactual: | None |
N/A as not a hillfort
N/A as not a hillfort
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 | ✗ |
NO APPARENT FEATURES
| APs Not Checked | ✓ |
| None | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
N/A as not a hillfort
| None: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
N/A as not a hillfort
| Area 1: | Noneha. |
| Total: | Noneha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✗ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | None |
| SE Quadrant: | None |
| SW Quadrant: | None |
| NW Quadrant: | None |
| Total: | None |
| 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: None
| ✗ | None |
Wheeler, M. 1954. The Stanwick Fortifications, North Riding of Yorkshire. Oxford University Press. Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London No.XVII.
Haselgrove, C. (ed) 2016. Cartimandua's Capital?: The late Iron Age Royal Site at Stanwick, North Yorkshire, Fieldwork and Analysis 1981-2011. CBA Research Report 175.
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