Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN3474 Stoke Hill Camp, Devon

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Devon MDV10196 (None)

NMR:  SX 99 NW 18 (448195)

SM:  1003841

NGR:  SX92699570

X:  292638  Y:  95713  (OSGB36)

Summary

Univallate partial contour hillfort located on summit of prominent hill above Rive Exe to NW. Steep, then very steep, surrounding slopes on NE and NW, steep on SE and SW, moderate to strong on S. Ramparts cut across hilltop contours on SW. Now remnants, but formerly probably defined by surrounding rampart and ditch, enclosing 2.0ha. Now on S side rampart ploughed down and only visible in places. To N hedge bank possible site of rampart. Small excavation by C. Raleigh Radford (1938) found Iron slag and first century AD pottery. Improved pasture. Trees fringe site. Eroded and ploughed-down rampart and mutilated entrance. On 1st Ed. OS map (1889).

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -392213  Y:  6577365  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -3.5233133578410025  Latitude:  50.75099536784138  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Devon

Historic County:  Devon

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Stoke Canon

Monument Condition

Eroded and ploughed-down rampart and mutilated entrance.

Condition:
Extant   ✓
Cropmark   ✗
Likely Destroyed   ✗

Land Use

Improved pasture. Trees fringe site.

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

Univallate, commanding, partial contour hillfort located on prominent hill above Rive Exe to NW. Steep, then very steep, surrounding slopes on NE and NW, steep on SE and SW, moderate to strong on S. Ramparts cut across hilltop contours on SW.

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:  Hill top

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

Altitude:  152.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

Sructural evidence suggests probable construction end of pre-Roman Iron Age.

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:
Morphology/Earthwork/Typology:   Construction details.

Investigation History

On 1st Ed. OS map (1889). Small excavation by C.A.R. Radford 1935.

Investigations:
1st Identified Map Depiction (1889):   OS map.
Excavation (1935):   C.A.R. Radford

Interior Features

Featurelass interior. Iron slag and first century AD pottery.

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

Iron slag and first century AD pottery.

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

Entrance, much mutilated by farm traffic, on E. Gap on W probably modern.

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
2:   Gap on W probably modern.

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   Mutilated original entrance on E.

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (East):   Mutilated.

Enclosing Works

Ramparts cut across hilltop contours on SW. Now remnants, but formerly probably defined by surrounding rampart and ditch. Now on S side rampart ploughed down and only visible in places. To N hedgebank possible site of rampart.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   2.0ha.
Total:   2.0ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   Probably completed circuit, but now only remnants and hedge bank on N.

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

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:
✗   No ditch visible.

Number of Ditches:  0

Annex:
✗   None

References

Radford, C.A.R. 1938. Stoke Hill Camp, Proc. Devon Archaeol. Explor. Soc, 3, 24-32.



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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