Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN3152 Thornton Farm, Warwickshire (Knavenhill; Hounds Hill)

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Warwickshire 1258 (None)

NMR:  SP 25 SE 2 (333196)

SM:  1002990

NGR:  SP 27768 50342

X:  427768  Y:  250342  (OSGB36)

Summary

Lying approximately 1.5km to the NE of Ettington and 600m to the SE of Thornton Wood, the cropmarks of a large double-ditched sub-oval enclosure, originally interpreted as a henge but subsequently suggested to be a hillfort or other Iron Age site (Thomas 1974; 40, Plate 1b). A wide inner ditch can be seen on aerial photographs and traces of an internal bank survive in the S. Opposing entrances lie in the E and W. A small annex has been recorded in the SE. It overlies the cropmark of a narrow rectangular feature suggested by Harding and Lee (1987) to be a Neolithic curses, although this is disputed and it might be geological. A semicircular stone scatter 7.6 to 9.1m wide was observed within the outer ditch after ploughing in 1978. Iron Age pottery sherds, worked flints, a small piece of copper and a piece of cremated bone have also been recovered from the surface. Medieval and post medieval ridge and furrow ploughing has been recorded across the site and traces of old field boundaries can be seen on aerial photographs. The site is not recorded on OS mapping.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -177620  Y:  6827408  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -1.5955852846097667  Latitude:  52.150631731897924  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Warwickshire

Historic County:  Warwickshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Ettington

Monument Condition

None

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 possible hillslope fort lying on a southeasterly slope at approximately 77m 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:  77.0m

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:   None
Post Hillfort:   Ridge and furrow recorded across the site

Evidence:No related records

Investigation History

Included in the transcript of a report by Hobley in 1962. Description and plan produced by Hingley (1984) held in HER, Mapped as part of the SE Warwickshire & Cotswolds HLS NMP survey. Field investigation in 1962. Scheduled as a double-ditched enclosure.

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (1962):   None
Other (1962):   Field investigation
Earthwork Survey (1984):   None
Other (None):   NMP
Other (None):   Scheduled

Interior Features

No internal features are recorded. Cremated bone recovered. Report does not state if human or animal

Water Source

A stream lies to the S

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

Small piece of copper. Cremated bone assumed here to be human

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

Opposing entrances lie in the E and W

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
2:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (East):   None
2. Simple Gap (West):   None

Enclosing Works

Cropmarks of a large double-ditched sub-oval enclosure. A wide inner ditch can be seen on aerial photographs and traces of an internal bank survive in the S.

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

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✓   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   2
SE Quadrant:   2
SW Quadrant:   2
NW Quadrant:   2
Total:   2

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

Report of traces of an internal bank surviving in the 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:
✓   None

Number of Ditches:  2

Annex:
✓   A small annex has been recorded in the SE

References

Harding, A.F. and Lee, G.E. 1987. Henge monuments and related sites of Great Britain: air photographic evidence and catalogue. BAR British series 1 (1974), 175, 281-3.

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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