Monument record 631/4/2 - Smaller Hillfort Defences at North End of Large Hillfort (Morphed Aerial Archaeology Interpretation)

Earthwork: Small scale excavation

{3} The Northern Fort covers just under 5 hectares and consists of a roughly triangular area, bounded by a massive rampart, a ditch and a counterscarp bank on the east and west sides. On the south side a rampart, ditch and counterscarp bank, possibly with an outer and later bank and ditch beyond, cut across the hill top. The west side is the best preserved. Here the inner rampart is no more than a scarp falling into the main ditch, except at the north end where slight traces of the inner side of the bank, only 0.25m high, remain. The ditch is steep-sided and flat-bottomed, cut 3m below the summit of the rampart and 1m below the counterscarp bank on the outside. The counterscarp bank is much damaged and in places is only a low scarp 1m high. At the extreme north corner of the fort a later, deeply hollowed trackway has cut across the ditch and apparently continues within the fort ditch along the north east side. Beyond the ditch the counterscarp bank still exists 1m high. After some 140m the latter fades out, the hhollow-way ends and the inner side of the ditch turns west to form an entrance—like feature before continuing south in a mutilated form for another 40m. The south east corner of the fort and the eastern part of its southern defences no longer exist. The earthworks were almost entirely destroyed by the farm built here in the early 19th century and now demolished. To the west again the southern defences are mainly intact and consist of an inner rampart, now reduced to a scarp, and a deep ditch, 4m below the rampart and 2m below the outer counterscarp bank, the latter here only 0.25m high. Below and some 10m—15m in front of the counterscarp bank is another bank 0.2m high with traces of an outer ditch up to 2m deep at its west end. The position and appearance of this outer bank and ditch may indicated that it is a later addition to the defences on this side in order to strengthen the weakest side of the fort. At their east ends this outer bank, the counterscarp bank and the main ditch all fade out, and the inner rampart curves inwards to form an ovoid flat-topped mound some 2m high. This suggests that before destruction there was some form of inturned entrance to the fort at this point. In 1823 Baker dug into the ovoid mound on the assumption that it was a barrow. In it he found ‘part of a skeleton of a man, the tooth of a horse and several other bones’, near the surface.

{5} Small hillfort is triangular in shape and enclosing area of about 5ha within the larger hillfort, at northernmost part of hill; the defences include inner bank & ditch & outer bank; best preserved on west side and on the south-west where strengthened by additional outer bank & ditch; to the east they are overlain by remains of C19th farm and trackway running northwards across defences; halfway along southern side where defences cross hill is gap of 35m representing a former entranceway.

<1> Baker G., 1822-36, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.344 (unchecked) (Book). SNN10400.

<2> Edgar W., 1923, Borough Hill & Its History, p.32 (unchecked) (Book). SNN47010.

<3> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1982, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.65 site 3 (checked) (Series). SNN77382.

<4> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP56SE6, 25 (checked) (Index). SNN443.

<5> English Heritage, 1994, English Heritage Scheduling Notification, SAM 17145 (part checked) (Report). SNN1342.

<6> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, Used with NMR & CUCAP collections (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN104822.

<7> OS 25 INCH MAP, (unchecked) (Map). SNN15220.

<8> Jackson D., 1991, Borough Hill: An Archaeological Evaluation for The BBC, 1991, (checked) (Full Report). SNN47547.

<9> Serjeantson R.M.; Ryland W. (Editors), 1906, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.398-99 (checked) (Series). SNN100369.

Record last edited

Jun 19 2024 4:26PM