Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN3114 Toft Hill, County Durham

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  County Durham 1674 (None)

NMR:  NZ 12 NE 11 (None)

SM:  None

NGR:  NZ 1547 2858

X:  415470  Y:  528580  (OSGB36)

Summary

An alleged hillfort on the plateau of Toft Hill, now destroyed by open-cast mining. Reported by Bailey (1779) as traces of an entrenchment 'of considerable strength' but badly damaged at that time with one side in the W measuring 128m. A field investigation in 1954 described a ditch 5m wide and 1m deep and a few stoned of an inner bank. There was no evidence for internal occupation. Bronze Age flints have been found in the region of the site (report in Bowes Museum). The location of the site is recorded on OS mapping by the 1920's. Minimal investigations, undated.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Irreconciled issues

Reliability of Interpretation:  Irreconciled issues

Location

X:  -196117  Y:  7294637  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -1.7617502326182863  Latitude:  54.652101056069476  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England; None

Current County or Unitary Authority:  County Durham

Historic County:  County Durham

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Evenwood and Barony; Etherley

Monument Condition

None

Condition:
Extant   ✗
Cropmark   ✗
Likely Destroyed   ✓

Land Use

Quarrying

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

Described as sited on a plateau on a hillslope at approximately 183m OD

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:  Hillslope

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

Altitude:  183.0m

Boundary

The parish boundaries between Evenwood and Barony and Etherley ran through or directly to the S of the enclosure

Boundary Type:  Parish/Townland


Dating Evidence

The site is undated. Bronze Age flints found.

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:   Open cast quarrying

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

Described by Bailey (1779). Recorded as a site on 1:2,500 on 1921 OS mapping. Field investigation in 1954 and 1972.

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1779):   None
1st Identified Map Depiction (1921):   1:2,500
Other (None):   None

Interior Features

No features 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

Destroyed

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:  
0:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

One side surviving in the W measuring 128m. Described in 1954 as a ditch 5m wide and 1m deep and a few stoned of an inner bank.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   Noneha.
Total:   Noneha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   Unknown

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:  1

Annex:
✗   None

References

Bailey, J. 1779. Antiq Repertory iii

Page, W. 1905 to 1968. The Victoria County History County Durham, vol.1, 348



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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