Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

WA1197 Bausley Hill, Montgomeryshire (Bausley Camp; Castle Camp)

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

LiDAR 1m DTM Hillshade

Satellite Imagery

Satellite Imagery

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HER:  Clwyd Powys 1702 (None)

NMR:  SJ 31 SW (307137)

SM:  MG060(POW)

NGR:  SJ3220014540

X:  332200  Y:  314540  (OSGB36)

Summary

Partial contour hillfort, one of the cluster of sites in the Breidden Hills and located on the tip of a NE-facing ridge opposite to Y Breiddin hillfort itself (Atlas No 1276) and near Cefn-y-Castell, Middletown Hill (Atlas No ) and New Pieces (Atlas No 1536) hillforts and above the confluence of the River Severn and Afon Vyrnwy and overlooking the Severn plain near Welshpool. Surrounding slopes to N very steep, S moderate, E moderate to strong and W steep. Measures c. 80m by 40m NE by SW with internal area 0.21ha. Mostly two ramparts cross the slopes, with to N and W two ditches c. 90cm deep, with third on fairly level ground at SW end. Strongest at NE point of the hill where the entrance was located facing SW. Here ditches to 1.8m deep. Possible further line or platforms within defences lower down to SW. Rough upland grazing interior with wooded surrounding slopes. Bisected by track obscuring definition on W side. Modern quarry in SW corner. On 1st Ed. OS map (1886-87). Minimal investigations, undated.

Status

Citizen Science:  ✗

Reliability of Data:  Confirmed

Reliability of Interpretation:  Confirmed

Location

X:  -334553  Y:  6932148  (EPSG: 3857)

Longitude:  -3.005344094874485  Latitude:  52.72421684714375  (EPSG:4326)

Country:  Wales

Current County or Unitary Authority:  Powys

Historic County:  Montgomeryshire

Current Parish/Community/Council/Townland:  Bausley With Criggion

Monument Condition

Bisected by track. Modern quarry in SW corner.

Condition:
Extant   ✓
Cropmark   ✗
Likely Destroyed   ✗

Land Use

Rough upland grazing interior with wooded surrounding slopes. Quarry.

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

Partial contour hillfort, one of the cluster of sites in the Breidden Hills and located on the tip of a NE-facing ridge opposite to the Breiddin hillfort itself above the confluence of the River Severn and Afon Vyrnwy and overlooking the Severn plain. Surrounding slopes to N very steep, S moderate, E moderate to strong and W steep.

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:  Ridge

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

Altitude:  198.0m

Boundary

N/A


Dating Evidence

None.

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

On 1st Ed. OS map (1886-87). CPAT Iron Age and Romano-British Settlement in the Upper Severn Valley research project 1988.

Investigations:
Other (1988):   CPAT Iron Age and Romano-British Settlement in the Upper Severn Valley research project.
1st Identified Map Depiction (None):   OS map.

Interior Features

Possible further line or platforms within defences lower down to SW.

Water Source

Stream 0.21km outside fort.

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

Surface

Possible further line or platforms within defences lower down to SW.

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

Entrance on NE facing SW.

Total Number of Breaks Through Ramparts:  
1:   None

Number of Possible Original Entrances:  
2:   None

Guard Chambers:  ✗

Chevaux de Frise:  ✗

Entrances:
1. Simple Gap (North east):   None

Enclosing Works

Defences cross the slopes, to N and W they consist of two ditches c. 90cm, deep with third on fairly level ground at SW end. Strongest at NE point of the hill where the entrance was located facing SW. Here ditches to 1.8m deep.

Enclosed Area:
Area 1:   0.21ha.
Total:   0.21ha.

Total Footprint Area:  Noneha.

Ramparts

None

Multi-period Enclosure System:
✗   None

Ramparts Form a Continuous Circuit:
✓   Quadrants estimated and affected by track. Possible further line or platforms within defences lower down to SW not included in quadrants.

Number of Ramparts:  
NE Quadrant:   2
SE Quadrant:   2
SW Quadrant:   3
NW Quadrant:   2
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

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Constructions in Wales and Monmouthshire, 1911. An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Wales and Monmouthshire, I, County of Montgomery, London: HMSO.

Spurgeon, C.J. 1972. Enclosures of Iron Age type in the Upper Severn Basin, In Lynch, F. and Burgess, C. (eds.) 1972, Prehistoric man in Wales and the West, 332, Bath: Adams and Dart.



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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