Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

EN4308 Fawdon Dean, Northumberland

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Northumberland 3138 (None)

NMR:  NU 0 1 NW 164 (1381892)

SM:  None

NGR:  NU 0175 1520

X:  401779  Y:  615202  (OSGB36)

Summary

Discovered in 1989 by aerial photograph, two overlapping enclosures, one eggshaped (Fawdon Dean 1) and one more rectilinear (Fawdon Dean 2). Geophysics and limited excavation in 2000 (Frodsham and Waddington 2004) show that enclosure 2 is later. Enclosure 1 had a narrow deep ditch with internal posts and an internal bank so seems to be for a palisade, enclosing 0.1ha. It contained roundhouses starting with timber then replaced with stone, at least three, the earlier dated by C14 to c.180 BC the latter to c. 1st century BC. Enclosure 2 had a 4m wide ditch and entrance to the SW, an internal bank had an internal stone wall revetment, enclosing 0.28ha. A stone built roundhouse and a pit, animal bones, metal working, C14 dated to 110-250 AD, abandoned by the 3rd century AD. Possible annex to the N. (Scheduled but no information).

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Unconfirmed

Location

X:  -219682  Y:  7445917  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -1.9734332948751954  Latitude:  55.43074196511799  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  England; None

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Northumberland

Historic County:  Northumberland

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Ingram; Fawdon and Clinch

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

North facing hillslope fort

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:  205.0m

Boundary

Boundary Type:  Parish/Townland


Dating Evidence

C14 dates for roundhouses, c.180 BC the latter to c. 1st century BC for enclosure 1, 110-250 AD, abandoned by the 3rd century AD for enclosure 2

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:
C14:   None

Investigation History

Discovered in 1989 by aerial photograph. Geophysics and limited excavation in 2000 (Frodsham and Waddington 2004)

Investigations:
Other (1989):   None
Geophysical Survey (2000):   None
Excavation (2000):   None

Interior Features

Roundhouses and pit by excavation, animal bones, metalworking.

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

Enclosure 2 had an entrance to the SW

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
None:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (South west):   None

Enclosing Works

Two overlapping enclosures. Enclosure 1 had a narrow deep ditch with internal posts and an internal bank so seems to be for a palisade. Enclosure 2 had a 4m wide ditch

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.1ha.
Area 2:   0.28ha.
Total:   0.28ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✓   Suggested by ditch

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:
✓   None

Number of Ditches:  1

Annex:
✓   Possible annex to the N.

References

Frodsham, P. and C. Waddington. 2004. The Breamish Valley Archaeology Project, 1994-2002. In P. Frodsham (ed.) Archaeology in Northumberland National Park. York, CBA Rep. 136, 171-89.

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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