Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN3822 Capital House, Margate, Kent

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Kent TR 37 SE 375 (None)

NMR:  None (None)

SM:  None

NGR:  TR 3574 7114

X:  635740  Y:  171140  (OSGB36)

Summary

At Capital House, Margate, ditches, possibly of an Iron Age hillfort or defended settlement discovered during an evaluation by Canterbury Archaeological Trust in 2012 (Gollop 2012). Two phases of activity were discovered with the first phase consisting of two parallel ditches both 1.25m deep and 1.4-2.05m wide. A possible timber revetted bank lay to the N. The ditches were cut in a later phase by a single ditch 1.06m deep and 3.75m wide from which middle and late Iron Age pottery, animal bone and worked flint was recovered. Within the area enclosed by the ditch a number of undated post holes were observed including ten which were shown to be contemporary and a group of others dated to the iron Age which formed no pattern but were considered to have been structural. Post holes, pits, ditches and gullies lay on higher ground in the N. No further information is available.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Unconfirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Unconfirmed

Location

X:  154408  Y:  6690615  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  1.387074886883426  Latitude:  51.39024052582887  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Kent

Historic County:  Kent

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Margate

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

Possible contour fort lying at 21m 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:  None

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

Altitude:  21.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

Middle to late Iron Age pottery recovered from one phase of activity. The earlier phase is undated

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:   None

Investigation History

Discovered during an evaluation in 2012

Investigations:
1st Identified Written Reference (2012):   None

Interior Features

Pits, postholes, ditches and gullies with pottery discovered during excavations

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

Ditches and gullies

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

Built-up

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

Entrances

The location of any entrances is unknown

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
None:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:No related records

Enclosing Works

Comprises two parallel ditches both 1.25m deep and 1.4-2.05m wide. A possible timber revetted bank lay to the N. The ditches were cut in a later phase by a single ditch 1.06m deep and 3.75m wide

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

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✓   The enclosed area is unknown. Evidence for recutting of ditches.

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✗   Unknown

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   None
SE Quadrant:   None
SW Quadrant:   None
NW Quadrant:   None
Total:   None

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

Possible timber revetted bank in the N.

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:  3

Annex:
✗   None

References

Gollop, A. 2012. Archaeological evaluation at Capital House, Northdown Road, Margate, Kent. Canterbury Archaeological Trust. 2012/4. Unpublished



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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