Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN4248 Westfield, Northumberland

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Northumberland 5904 (None)

NMR:  NU 23 SW 6 (8329)

SM:  None

NGR:  NU 2065 3197

X:  420659  Y:  631976  (OSGB36)

Summary

Lying to the NE of Westfield, the cropmarks of a multiple-ditched oval enclosure, possibly a defended site or hillfort. The inner ditch has a diameter of 53m enclosing approximately 0.23ha. Outside this a larger ditch 10m in width has a diameter of 82m, increasing the site footprint to 0.58ha. A possible entrance lies in the SE with an associated ditched feature which might represent outworks. A further possible entrance lies in the W. The remains of a third outer ditch has also been recorded although no dimensions are given. The site is not recorded on OS mapping, Minimal investigations, undated.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Unconfirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -186332  Y:  7475460  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -1.6738454880828348  Latitude:  55.58103536383477  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Northumberland

Historic County:  Northumberland

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  North Sunderland and Seahouses

Monument Condition

Partial cropmark on 2006 satellite imagery

Condition:
Extant   ✗
Cropmark   ✓
Likely Destroyed   ✗

Land Use

Satellite imagery shows cycles of pasture and arable

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 level terrain fort lying within coastal lowland at 14m 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:  Coastal lowland, level terrain

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

Altitude:  14.0m

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 from the air in 1977 (Gates 1978). No further investigation

Investigations:
Other (1977):   None

Interior Features

No internal features are recorded

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

None

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

A possible entrance lies in the SE with an associated ditched feature which might represent outworks. A further possible entrance lies in the W

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
2:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. Outworks (South east):   None
1. Simple Gap (West):   None

Enclosing Works

Multiple-ditched oval enclosure. The inner ditch has a diameter of 53m enclosing approximately 0.23ha. Outside this a larger ditch 10m in width has a diameter of 82m, increasing the site footprint to 0.58ha. The remains of a further ditch has also been recorded although no dimensions are given.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.23ha.
Total:   0.23ha.

Total Footprint Area:  0.58ha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   Traces of a further ditch suggest the site footprint was greater than 0.58ha

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✓   None

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   3
SE Quadrant:   3
SW Quadrant:   3
NW Quadrant:   3
Total:   3

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:  3

Annex:
✗   None

References

Gates, T. 1978. CBA Grp 3 Newsbulletin (2nd Series) 7, 19



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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