Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN2972 Ball Cross, Derbyshire

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Derbyshire 5141; 5142 (None)

NMR:  SK 26 NW 14 (311192)

SM:  1011430

NGR:  SK 2278 6912

X:  422787  Y:  369122  (OSGB36)

Summary

Lying on a small spur to the N of Calton Pastures and to the S of Ballcross Farm, a small rectangular enclosure of 0.66ha. The site has a steep precipice to the SW which is now wooded and in the E and NE a bank, in places up to 2m high. Excavations in 1952-55 (Stanley 1954) showed the hillfort had undergone strengthening, beginning with a low stone wall and finally a stone-revetted box rampart. A 20m long section of external ditch lies In the N which is 7m wide and 1.5m deep, with a slight counterscarp. Iron Age pottery and quernstones were recovered during the excavation. Three cup and ring marked stones were found stratified within the ditch, one almost a metre in size. Stanley (ibid.) suggested the stones might have been incorporated into the wall of the hillfort. In the NE quadrant the second bank was only visible in the northern third of the quadrant. The site is scheduled as a promontory fort, but would be best described as a cliff-edge fort. It was scheduled in 1961 and first recorded on OS mapping by the 1970's. The site has been likened to Evening Bank Wood, Cumbria (Atlas No. 0347) by Challis &Harding (1975).

Status

Citizen Science:  ✓

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -184812  Y:  7023546  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -1.6601955199669898  Latitude:  53.2186527468232  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England; None

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Derbyshire

Historic County:  Derbyshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Bakewell; Edensor

Monument Condition

A citizen science survey in February 2014 reported that the inner bank was level with the interior of the site.

Condition:
Extant   ✓
Cropmark   ✗
Likely Destroyed   ✗

Land Use

Lies within the Peak District National Park

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 cliff-edge fort lying at 267m OD on a small spur

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:  Small spur

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

Altitude:  267.0m

Boundary

The parish boundary between Bakewell and Edensor follows the edge of the spur

Boundary Type:  Parish/Townland


Dating Evidence

Iron Age pottery and quernstones were recovered during excavation

Reliability:  B - Medium

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
Morphology/Earthwork/Typology:   None

Investigation History

The site was excavated between 1952-55 and scheduled in 1961. Ordnance Survey field investigation in 1966. Recorded on OS mapping by 1970. Scheduled

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1954):   None
Other (1955):   Scheduled
Other (1966):   Field investigation
1st Identified Map Depiction (1970):   1:2,500
Other (1979):   Visit by Hillfort Study Group
Other (1999):   Visited by Hillfort Study Group
Excavation (None):   None

Interior Features

No internal features are recorded although pottery sherds and quernstones were recovered during excavation

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

No features are recorded

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

Quernstone

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

Naturally defended in the SW by a steep precipice and in the E and NE by a stone-revetted box rampart, in places up to 2m high. A 20m long section of external ditch lies In the N which is 0.7m wide and 15m deep, with a slight counterscarp.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.66ha.
Total:   0.66ha.

Total Footprint Area:  0.8ha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✓   Strengthening of the rampart over time

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   1
SE Quadrant:   None
SW Quadrant:   None
NW Quadrant:   None
Total:   1

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

Stone-revetted box rampart

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:  1

Annex:
✗   None

References

Challis A.J. and Harding D.W. 1975. Later prehistory from the Trent to the Tyne; BAR British series 1 (1974) - 20(i)

Stanley, J. 1954. An Iron Age Fort at Ball Cross Farm, Bakewell. Derbyshire Archaeol J. 74. 85-99



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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