Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN2990 Combs Camp, Nottinghamshire (Combs Farm)

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Nottinghamshire 2757 (None)

NMR:  SK 65 NW 2 (320231)

SM:  1003483

NGR:  SK 6314 5512

X:  463141  Y:  355120  (OSGB36)

Summary

To the W of Combs Farm, the remains of a univallate hillfort of 1.4ha originally recorded as a promontory fort (Stevenson 1906). It lies in a commanding position at 96m OD with good visibility in all directions. It survives as curving earthwork banks which extend for 120m to the SW of the hillfort. A ditch has been identified at the western extent and a scarped bank in the S. Linear depressions seen on aerial photographs in a field to the W could be the remains of outer ditches. The site was surveyed by Hayman Rooke in 1785, at which time a curving ditch of approximately 37m to the N was already partly ploughed out. This can no longer be identified and is not recorded on OS mapping. A section through the ditch in 1961-2 identified two separate charcoal layers (Simmons 1963). A deliberately cut slot 0.6m wide was also discovered which has been interpreted as a cleaning slot. A 23cm high revetment stone was discovered at the lowest point of the bank. A flint scraper and knife were recovered but could not be dated. The site has suffered damage from ploughing and other activities including being a depository for silage and farm refuse and a barn has been constructed in the NE corner of the site. Finds reported by Rooke comprising a defaced brass coin, Roman brick and tile, several 'Roman' weapons and two small 'copper' battle axes discovered 0.6m deep in a bed of ashes have not been located and their classification as Roman is unverified. The cropmarks of two possible conjoined enclosures to the W of the site were noted on aerial photographs taken in 2001 which were possibly precursors to the hillfort. Recorded on 1885-1900 OS mapping. The site is undated.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -117849  Y:  6999579  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -1.058652038921487  Latitude:  53.089549103868215  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Nottinghamshire

Historic County:  Nottinghamshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Farnsfield

Monument Condition

Destroyed in places, but surviving as cropmarks in the W and earthworks in the SW. A road cuts through the defences in the S

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 univallate contour fort lying at 96m OD on an inland promontory.

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:  Inland promontory

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

Altitude:  96.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

The site is 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:   Conjoined enclosures said to pre-date the hillfort
Post Hillfort:   Pottery and brick, possible Roman finds would suggest some later activity on the site. Trig point

Evidence:
Artefactual:   Finds said to be Roman recovered in the 18th century, but unverified

Investigation History

Surveyed by Rooke in 1785. Recorded on 1883-5 1:2,500 OS mapping; Excavated in 1961-2 by Mansfield Archaeological Society. Field investigation in 1974. Scheduled

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1785):   None
Other (1955):   Scheduled
Other (1974):   Field investigation
1st Identified Map Depiction (None):   None
Excavation (None):   None

Interior Features

No internal features are known. Pottery, metal and lithics recovered.

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

Ramparts only excavated

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 unknown

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
None:   Unknown

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   Unknown

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

Survives as curving earthwork banks which extend for 120m to the SW of the hillfort. A ditch has been identified at the western extent and a scarped bank in the S. Linear depressions seen on aerial photographs in a field to the W could be the remains of outer ditches. A curving ditch of approximately 37m was identified to the N (Rooke 1785). This can no longer be identified.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   1.4ha.
Total:   1.4ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   The area is defined by the extent of the promontory

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   None

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

Scarped bank in S

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:
✓   Described by Rooke (1785) but can no longer be seen

Number of Ditches:  1

Annex:
✗   None

References

Rooke H. 1789. Letter. Archaeologia. 9, 200

Simmons, B.B. 1963. Iron Age Hill Forts in Nottinghamshire. Trans Thoroton Soc Nottinghamshire. LXVII 9-13, 15.

Stevenson, W. 1906. Victoria County History, Nottinghamshire, Vol 1, 290-1.



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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