LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
Scroll left/right to view further images.
HER: Devon No record found (None)
NMR: SS 73 NW 6 (35025)
SM: 1003884
NGR: SS70553909
X: 270541 Y: 139093 (OSGB36)
Possible hillslope fort located on SW-facing slope on moorland edge high in hills above sea to N. Steep to very steep slopes through SE-NW, moderate upslope to ridge top to NE. Unusual rectangular shape for hillfort, possibly belies Romano-British date. Measures 146m by 142m, with internal area c. 2ha. Defined by earth and stone bank c. 1.5m high and 8m wide, with outer ditch. Possibly unfinished. Entrance possibly in centre of W side, with causeway over ditch. Possible blocked entrance 35m N of SE corner. Excavation by J.F. Chanter 1905 and various RCHME and other investigations 1993-2009. Barrow (NMR UID 1050187) within NE corner, probably the original 'Shoul's Barrow'. Heather moorland. Generally well-preserved. On 1st Ed. OS map (1889-90).
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Unconfirmed
X: -428783 Y: 6645453 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -3.8518242182428972 Latitude: 51.1363774120891 (EPSG:4326)
Country: England; None
Current County or Unitary Authority: Devon
Historic County: Devon
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Brayford; Challacombe and High Bray
Well-preserved. In Exmoor National Park.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
Moorland. SSSI.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✗ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✓ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Hillslope fort located on SW-facing slope on moorland edge high in hills above sea to N. Steep to very steep slopes through SE-NW, moderate upslope to ridge top to NE.
| Contour Fort | ✗ |
| Partial Contour Fort | ✗ |
| Promontory Fort | ✗ |
| Hillslope Fort | ✓ |
| Level Terrain Fort | ✗ |
| Marsh Fort | ✗ |
| Multiple Enclosure Fort | ✗ |
| Hilltop | ✗ |
| Coastal Promontory | ✗ |
| Inland Promontory | ✗ |
| Valley Bottom | ✗ |
| Knoll/Hillock/Outcrop | ✗ |
| Ridge | ✗ |
| Cliff/Plateau-edge/Scarp | ✗ |
| Hillslope | ✓ |
| Lowland | ✗ |
| Spur | ✗ |
Dominant Topographic Feature: Hillslope
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✗ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✓ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✗ |
Altitude: 459.0m
Boundary Type: Parish/Townland
Unusual rectangular shape for hillfort, probably belies Romano-Britsh or early Roman date.
Reliability: C - Low
| Pre 1200BC | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50 | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400 | ✓ |
| AD400 - AD 800 | ✗ |
| Post AD800 | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Pre Hillfort: | None |
| Post Hillfort: | None |
| Morphology/Earthwork/Typology: | Unusual rectangular shape for hillfort. |
On 1st Ed. OS map (1889-90). Measured survey RCHME West Exmoor Project 1993-96. Aerial photograph interpretation Exmoor National Park/English Heritage 2007-2009.
| Other (1989): | Visited by Hillfort Study Group |
| Other (1996): | Measured survey RCHME West Exmoor Project 1993-96 (Jamieson). |
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (None): | OS map. |
| Other (None): | Aerial photograph interpretation Exmoor National Park/English Heritage 2007-2009. |
None
None
| None | ✓ |
| Spring | ✗ |
| Stream | ✗ |
| Pool | ✗ |
| Flush | ✗ |
| Well | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| No Known Features | ✓ |
| Round Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Rectangular Stone Structures | ✗ |
| Curvilinear Platforms | ✗ |
| Other Roundhouse Evidence | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| No Known Excavation | ✓ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
| Nothing Found | ✗ |
None
| No Known Geophysics | ✓ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Quarry Hollows | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
| Nothing Found | ✗ |
None
| No Known Finds | ✓ |
| Pottery | ✗ |
| Metal | ✗ |
| Metalworking | ✗ |
| Human Bones | ✗ |
| Animal Bones | ✗ |
| Lithics | ✗ |
| Environmental | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| APs Not Checked | ✓ |
| None | ✗ |
| Roundhouses | ✗ |
| Rectangular Structures | ✗ |
| Pits | ✗ |
| Postholes | ✗ |
| Roads/Tracks | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
Entrance possibly in centre of W side, with causeway over ditch. Possible blocked entrance 35m N of SE corner
| 2: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (West): | Causeway over ditch. |
| 2. Blocked (South east): | 35m N of SE corner. |
Earth and stone bank c. 1.5m high and 8m wide, with outer ditch. Possibly unfinished.
| Area 1: | 2.0ha. |
| Total: | 2.0ha. |
Total Footprint Area: Noneha.
None
| ✗ | None |
| ✓ | None |
| NE Quadrant: | 1 |
| SE Quadrant: | 1 |
| SW Quadrant: | 1 |
| NW Quadrant: | 1 |
| Total: | 1 |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✓ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✗ |
| Partial Univallate | ✗ |
| Univallate | ✗ |
| Partial Bivallate | ✗ |
| Bivallate | ✗ |
| Partial Multivallate | ✗ |
| Multivallate | ✗ |
Earth and stone bank.
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✓ |
| Stone Wall | ✗ |
| Rubble | ✓ |
| Wall-walk | ✗ |
| Evidence of Timber | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✗ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✓ |
| Other | ✗ |
Not known.
| None | ✓ |
| Earthen Bank | ✗ |
| Stone Wall | ✗ |
| Murus Duplex | ✗ |
| Timber-framed | ✗ |
| Timber-laced | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✗ |
| Berm | ✗ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| No Known Excavation | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
| ✗ | None |
| ✓ | None |
Number of Ditches: 1
| ✗ | None |
Chanter, J.F. 1906. Note, Devonshire Association Reports and Transactions, 38, 118.
Griffith, F.M. and Wilkes, E.M. 2011. In the footsteps of pioneering women: some recent work on Devon hillforts, In Pearce, S (ed). Recent archaeological work in South-Western Britain, BAR British Series 548.
Jamieson, E. 2005. Shoulsbury Castle, Exmoor, Devon, Swindon: English Heritage Arch. Investigation Report, Ser. AI/13/2005.
Silvester, R.J. and Quinnell, N.V. 1993. Unfinished hillforts on the Devon moors, Proc. Devon Archaeol. Soc, 51, 17-31.
Atlas of Hillforts:
Wikidata:
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
Document Version 1.1