Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN4245 Stickle Heaton, Northumberland

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Northumberland 979 (None)

NMR:  NT 84 SE 31 (1397)

SM:  None

NGR:  NT 8849 4194

X:  388490  Y:  641940  (OSGB36)

Summary

Approximately 100m to the NW of Stickle Heaton Farm, the cropmarks of a defended enclosure or possible hillfort. It lies on the summit of a low hillock at 64m OD and comprises two conjoined enclosures, the second possibly an annex. The larger of the enclosures is formed from two concentric ditches which make an irregular curvilinear enclosure 60m wide and estimated to cover an area of 0.3-0.4ha, although the cropmarks are incomplete. A 5m wide parchmark observed between the ditches is probably the remains of a bank. A possible entrance lies in the W. Within the enclosure two sides of a rectangular enclosure or possibly a third circuit have been recorded. Downslope of the enclosure abutting the outer ditch in the SE, is a curvilinear annex 92m long by 38m wide covering 0.3ha. An entrance in the outer ditch of the large enclosure connects the two. The site is not recorded on OS mapping, Minimal investigations, undated.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Unconfirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Unconfirmed

Location

X:  -243183  Y:  7493170  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -2.1845516141607795  Latitude:  55.670861094785224  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Northumberland

Historic County:  Northumberland

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Cornhill-on-Tweed

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

A possible contour fort lying on a low hillock at 64m 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:  Hillock

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

Altitude:  64.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

The site is undated

Reliability:  D - None

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:No related records

Investigation History

Recorded on aerial photographs

Investigations:
Other (1979):   NMR NT 8841/3 (1691/13) 02-AUG-1979

Interior Features

Two lengths of ditch, possibly a rectangular enclosure or a further circuit.

Water Source

River Till to the N

Source:
None   ✓
Spring   ✗
Stream   ✗
Pool   ✗
Flush   ✗
Well   ✗
Other   ✗

Surface

Ditches and possible rectangular enclosure

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

None

Interior (Finds):
No Known Finds   ✓
Pottery   ✗
Metal   ✗
Metalworking   ✗
Human Bones   ✗
Animal Bones   ✗
Lithics   ✗
Environmental   ✗
Other   ✗

Aerial

Ditches

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

Entrances

A possible entrance lies in the W of the main enclosure in addition a further break connects the main enclosure with the annex in the SE

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
3:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (West):   Inner ditch
1. Simple Gap (West):   Outer ditch
2. Simple Gap (South east):   Connecting with the annex

Enclosing Works

Comprises two conjoined enclosures, the second possibly an annex. The larger of the enclosures is formed from two concentric ditches which make an irregular curvilinear enclosure 60m wide and estimated to cover an area of 0.3-0.4ha, although the cropmarks are incomplete. A 5m wide parchmark observed between the ditches is probably the remains of a bank. Within the enclosure two sides of a rectangular enclosure or possibly a third circuit have been recorded.

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

Total Footprint Area:  0.4ha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✓   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   2
SE Quadrant:   2
SW Quadrant:   2
NW Quadrant:   2
Total:   2

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:
✓   None

Number of Ditches:  2

Annex:
✓   Downslope of the enclosure abutting the outer ditch in the SE is a curvilinear annex 92m long by 38m wide covering 0.3ha (Gates and Deegan 2009, 156).

References

Gates, T. 1979. Aerial Arch 4, 103.

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.



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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