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HER:  Northumberland 2214 (60018 (Canmore))
NMR:  NT 94 NW 8 (4025)
SM:  None
NGR:  NT 9004 4505
X:  390040  Y:  645050  (OSGB36)
Lying 800m to the S of West Newbiggin, the cropmarked remains of a double-ditched enclosure, possibly a hillfort. It occupies the summit of a rise at 46m OD on the highest point on Whidden Hill. Oval in form measuring internally 85m NE-SW by 48m transversely (0.31ha). The two ditches have an 8m separation, with the outer ditch approximately 3.5m wide and the inner ditch less than 3m wide. A possible off-set entrance lies in the NE. The site is now cut by a modern field boundary and no internal features are recorded. Not recorded on OS mapping. Minimal investigations, undated.
Citizen Science:  ✗
Reliability of Data:  Unconfirmed
Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed
X:  -240453  Y:  7498695  (EPSG: 3857)
Longitude:  -2.160022461354342  Latitude:  55.69883992603213  (EPSG:4326)
Country:  England
Current County or Unitary Authority:  Northumberland
Historic County:  Northumberland
Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Norham
None
| Extant   | ✗ |
| Cropmark   | ✓ |
| Likely Destroyed   | ✗ |
None
| Woodland   | ✗ |
| Commercial Forestry Plantation   | ✗ |
| Parkland   | ✗ |
| Pasture (Grazing)   | ✗ |
| Arable   | ✓ |
| Scrub/Bracken   | ✗ |
| Bare Outcrop   | ✗ |
| Heather/Moorland   | ✗ |
| Heath   | ✗ |
| Built-up   | ✗ |
| Coastal Grassland   | ✗ |
| Other   | ✗ |
A possible former contour fort lying at 46m OD on the summit of low rise known as Whidden Hill.
| 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:  Low hill
| North   | ✗ |
| Northeast   | ✗ |
| East   | ✗ |
| Southeast   | ✗ |
| South   | ✗ |
| Southwest   | ✗ |
| West   | ✗ |
| Northwest   | ✗ |
| Level   | ✓ |
Altitude:  46.0m
N/A
The site is undated
Reliability:  D - None
| Pre 1200BC   | ✗ |
| 1200BC - 800BC   | ✗ |
| 800BC - 400BC   | ✗ |
| 400BC - AD50   | ✗ |
| AD50 - AD400   | ✗ |
| AD400 - AD 800   | ✗ |
| Post AD800   | ✗ |
| Unknown   | ✓ |
| Pre Hillfort:   | None |
| Post Hillfort:   | Trig point |
Recorded on an aerial photograph in 1951, field investigation in 1967. Aerial Interpretation during Till Tweed National Mapping Programme 2003.
| Other (1951):   | AP NT 9045/14 (8044/57) 16-JUL-1951 |
| Other (1967):   | Field investigation |
| Other (2003):   | NMP |
The site is now cut by a modern field boundary and no internal features are recorded.
The River Tweed lies 850m to the NW
| 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   | ✗ |
A possible off-set entrance lies in the NE.
| 2:   | None |
| 2:   | None |
Guard Chambers:  ✗
Chevaux de Frise:  ✗
| 1. Oblique (North east):   | None |
| 1. Oblique (North east):   | None |
Double-ditched enclosure, oval in form measuring internally 85m NE-SW by 48m transversely (0.31ha). The two ditches have an 8m separation, with the outer ditch approximately 3.5m wide and the inner ditch less than 3m wide.
| Area 1:   | 0.31ha. |
| Total:   | 0.31ha. |
Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.
None
| ✗   | None |
| ✓   | None |
| NE Quadrant:   | 2 |
| SE Quadrant:   | 2 |
| SW Quadrant:   | 2 |
| NW Quadrant:   | 2 |
| Total:   | 2 |
| 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:  2
| ✗   | None |
Gates, T. and Deegan, A. 2009. Monuments in the Landscape in Passmore, D.G. and Waddington, C. (eds). Managing Archaeological Landscapes in Northumberland. Till-Tweed Studies, Vol 1. Oxbow, 125-71.
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