Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN3149 Corley Camp, Warwickshire (Burrow Hill Fort; Burrow Hill Camp)

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Warwickshire 369 (None)

NMR:  SP 38 NW 9 (335977)

SM:  1007718

NGR:  SP 30447 85094

X:  430447  Y:  285094  (OSGB36)

Summary

To the E of the village of Corley, a univallate hillfort lying at 166m OD on the summit of Burrow Hill, bordered by Rock Lane in the W and Burrow Hill Lane in the N. The site is sub-square measuring 210m NW-SE by 190m transversely, enclosing approximately 3.0ha. Excavations in 1923 and 1926 (Chatwin 1930) determined that the earthworks, although poorly preserved, were constructed from coursed masonry forming a drystone wall, reinforced length-wise and cross-wise with timbering and faced with earth, described as similar to the murus Gallicus construction of Continental Iron Age forts. The site is best preserved along the SE edge with the rampart measuring up to 1.8m high and 9.8m wide at the base. Elsewhere intermittent traces of a rampart and ditch are visible with traces of a counterscarp bank along the northern edge. At the NE edge the rampart survives 10m wide and the ditch 6m wide. Quarrying has destroyed the ramparts at the northern corner of the site and sections of the NE counterscarp bank. Little surface evidence survives in the NW where the ground surface falls away steeply. The ramparts in the SW are thought to have been levelled and spread by ploughing and survive only as a slight break in slope. The ditch in the SW has been infilled. A possible coursewayed entrance 8.2m wide was discovered in the NW during excavation. Collapsed stone walls unearthed during the 1923 excavations have been interpreted as possible hut circles. Large quantities of flint flakes and fragments of Iron Age and Romano-British pottery were also recovered. In addition to the destruction through quarrying, the site is under arable and is being destroyed through ploughing. Recorded as 'Entrenchment' on 1888 1:2,500 OS mapping. Scheduled

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -172912  Y:  6884263  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -1.553298057400456  Latitude:  52.46291626302123  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Warwickshire

Historic County:  Warwickshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Corley

Monument Condition

Damage is occurring through ploughing and quarrying

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 partial contour fort lying on the level summit of Burrow Hill at 166m OD. The earthworks follow the 160m contour in the NE

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:  Summit of Burrow Hill

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

Altitude:  166.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

Iron Age and Romano-British pottery recovered

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:   Iron Age pottery

Investigation History

Recorded on 1888 1:2,500 OS mapping; 1904 VCH Warwickshire. Excavated in 1923 and 1926. Field investigation in 1968. Scheduled

Investigations:
1st Identified Map Depiction (1888):   None
1st Identified Written Reference (1904):   None
Other (1923):   Scheduled
Other (1924):   Scheduled
Other (1968):   Field investigation
Excavation (None):   None

Interior Features

Collapsed stone walls unearthed during the 1923 excavations have been interpreted as possible hut circles. Large quantities of flint flakes and fragments of Iron Age and Romano-British pottery also 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

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

None

Interior Features (Aerial):
APs Not Checked   ✓
None   ✗
Roundhouses   ✗
Rectangular Structures   ✗
Pits   ✗
Postholes   ✗
Roads/Tracks   ✗
Other   ✗

Entrances

A simple causewayed entrance 8.2m wide lies in the NW

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
1:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. Other Forms (North west):   Causeway

Enclosing Works

Sub-square in form measuring 210m NW-SE by 190m transversely, enclosing approximately 3.0ha. The earthworks, although poorly preserved, were constructed from coursed masonry forming a drystone wall, reinforced length-wise and cross-wise with timbering and faced with earth, described as similar to the murus Gallicus construction of Continental Iron Age forts. Intermittent traces of an outer ditch and counterscarp bank. Where measured the bank is approximately 1.8m high and 9.8m wide at the base and the ditch, now infilled, 6m wide.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   3.0ha.
Total:   3.0ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   1
SE Quadrant:   1
SW Quadrant:   1
NW Quadrant:   1
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

Described as similar to the murus Gallicus construction of Continental Iron Age forts

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

Chatwin, P. B. 1930. Excavations On Corley Camp, Near Coventry. Trans Proc Birmingham Archaeol Soc, 52. 282-7

Cotton, M.A. 1955. British camps with timber-laced ramparts. Archaeol. J. 111, 46-53, 85.

Doubleday, H. A. and Page, W. (eds) 1904. Victoria County History, Warwickshire, Vol 1, 370-1

Thomas, N. 1974. An archaeological gazetteer for Warwickshire: Neolithic to Iron Age. Trans Birm Warwicks Archaeol Soc, 86, 16-48.



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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