LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade
Satellite Imagery
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HER: Devon MDV7601 (None)
NMR: SX 75 SW 4 (444690)
SM: 1016258
NGR: SX72035203
X: 272029 Y: 52045 (OSGB36)
Partial contour hillfort sited to S of hill crest on summit of Blackdown Hill to W of River Avon. To N defences face slightly rising ground and to E and W onto level ground. Called an 'hillslope enclosure' by Fox (1952). Site also of medieval motte and bailey castle to W. Roughly oval in plan enclosing c. 2.4ha. Defined by rampart with external ditch and counterscarp. Rampart c. 6m wide and between 1.2m-1.7 metres high internally, with gradual inner slope, flat top, and near vertical outer face. Berm to 2m between rampart and ditch. Ditch is about 8m wide and 2m deep with steep sides and flat bottom. Counterscarp bank c.6m wide and 0.3m high, affected by road on N and field bank on S. East and W opposing entrances, both with causeway across ditch and c. 8m gap through ramparts. Motte and bailey medieval castle in NW corner of site, where also site of Pole Beacon of 1752. Pasture interior with some scrub and trees on banks especially at castle. On 1st Ed. OS map (1886). Minimal investigations, undated.
Citizen Science: ✗
Reliability of Data: Confirmed
Reliability of Interpretation: Confirmed
X: -423048 Y: 6507862 (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude: -3.8003005474182663 Latitude: 50.35429867491705 (EPSG:4326)
Country: England
Current County or Unitary Authority: Devon
Historic County: Devon
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland: Loddiswell
Affected by road on N. Medieval motte and bailey castle in NW interior.
| Extant | ✓ |
| Cropmark | ✗ |
| Likely Destroyed | ✗ |
Pasture interior with some scrub and trees on banks especially at castle. Motte and bailey medieval castle in NW corner of site, where also site of Pole Beacon of 1752. Affected by road on N.
| Woodland | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation | ✗ |
| Parkland | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing) | ✓ |
| Arable | ✗ |
| Scrub/Bracken | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland | ✗ |
| Heath | ✗ |
| Built-up | ✓ |
| Coastal Grassland | ✗ |
| Other | ✓ |
Partial contour hillfort sited to S of hillcrest on summit of Blackdown Hill to W of River Avon. To N defences face slightly rising ground and to E and W onto level ground.
| 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: Hill top
| North | ✗ |
| Northeast | ✗ |
| East | ✓ |
| Southeast | ✗ |
| South | ✗ |
| Southwest | ✗ |
| West | ✗ |
| Northwest | ✗ |
| Level | ✗ |
Altitude: 186.0m
N/A
None
Reliability: D - None
| Pre 1200BC | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50 | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400 | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800 | ✗ |
| Post AD800 | ✗ |
| Unknown | ✓ |
| Pre Hillfort: | None |
| Post Hillfort: | Motte and bailey medieval castle in NW corner of site, where also site of Pole Beacon of 1752. |
On 1st Ed. OS map (1886). Survey by RCHME c. 1990, ref. no. 621500.
| 1st Identified Map Depiction (1886): | OS map. |
| Earthwork Survey (None): | Survey by RCHME. |
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 | ✗ |
East and W opposing entrances, both with causeway across ditch and c. 8m gap through ramparts
| 2: | None |
| 2: | None |
Guard Chambers: ✗
Chevaux de Frise: ✗
| 1. Simple Gap (East): | Causeway across ditch. |
| 2. Simple Gap (East): | Causeway across ditch. |
Defined by rampart with external ditch and counterscarp. Rampart c. 6m wide and between 1.2m-1.7 metres high internally, with gradual inner slope, flat top, and near vertical outer face. Berm to 2m between rampart and ditch. Ditch is about 8m wide and 2m deep with steep sides and flat bottom. Counterscarp bank c.6m wide and 0.3m high, affected by road on N and field bank on S.
| Area 1: | 2.4ha. |
| Total: | 2.4ha. |
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 | ✗ |
None
| None | ✗ |
| Earthen Bank | ✓ |
| Stone Wall | ✗ |
| Rubble | ✗ |
| Wall-walk | ✗ |
| Evidence of Timber | ✗ |
| Vitrification | ✗ |
| Other Burning | ✗ |
| Palisade | ✗ |
| Counter Scarp Bank | ✓ |
| Berm | ✓ |
| Unfinished | ✗ |
| Other | ✗ |
None
| 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 |
Fox, A. 1952. Hill-slope forts and related earthworks in South-West England and South Wales, Archaeol. J. 109, 1-22.
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.
Wilson-North, R. and Dunn, C. 1990. 'The Rings'. Loddiswell: a new survey buy the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, Proc. Devon, Archaeol. Soc, 5, (2 and 3), 43-67.
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