Monument record 1677/1/2 - Possible outer ditch of hillfort

{1} It is possible that there was an outer ditch, and one is mentioned as having been found ‘in the external ironstone diggings’ in an account of 1891, though whether this was an external ditch to the fort is not clear; other lengths of ditch were discovered early in this century to the N.W. and S.W. of the fort, about 90 yards from the inner ditch. On an air photograph are vague cropmarks just outside the fort on its S.E. unquarried side. These may represent an outer system of ditches. Elsewhere, if they ever existed, they have been entirely removed by ironstone quarrying.

{2} Beyond the inner ditch there appears to have been a second trench, a much shallower one. The profile of it was distinctly to be seen in the esternal ironstone diggings, though little sign on it appeared on the surface fo the field, which was cultivated.

{6} South east of hillfort: Anomaly I corresponds best with the assumed line of the outer ditch whilst anomaly J has a stronger magnetic signal, but it runs closer to the hillfort. It is not possible to determine which of these two anomalies is the previously recorded outer ditch, however, it is possible that the archaeological record is more complex than previously assumed with multiple outer ditches along part of the periphery of the site.
North east of hillfort: anomaly n is probably the line of the outer ditch and broadly corresponds with the position of the previously recorded feature."
North east of the hillfort: excavation recorvered a substantial ditch cut through ironstone bedrock. Because of its depth, the excavation of the ditch was carried out by a mechanical excavator and since shoring was not practicable, the section was photographed and a sketch section drawn. The profile of the ditch is similar to photographs taken during quarrying with a maximum depth of 4.0m and a width of approximately 4.5m. It appeared to be devoid of any occupation debris and no finds were recovered. No evidence of a bank survived and there was no indication of a bank slipping back into the ditch. The uniformity of the fill would indicate that it had been deliberately backfilled, perhaps soon after it was first excavated.
South east of the hillfort: Two trenches were excavated to try to confirm the presence of this outer earthwork. Trench 1: a broad but relatively shallow ‘ditch’ was located at the north end of the trench, but no feature with dimensions comparable with that found in the geophysics was encountered. The ditch is assumed to be the inner of the two ditches suggested by the survey. No dating evidence was recovered. Trench 2: Although there was no evidence for the inner of the two ditches in this trench, the main outer ditch appeared to be clear on the surface. The top of the ditch showed as a broad area of loam between a bedrock of sandstone rubble on the south and sandy silt on the north. The overall depth of the feature was recorded as 2.8m but there is a strong possibility that it is a natural feature occurring at the junction of two types of bedrock. However, it is a strange coincidence that it occurs in the right place and on the right alignment for the main outer ditch. The trenches in this area have shown that ground near the south-east corner of the hillfort has not been quarried, suggesting the outer ditch was not intended to encompass the whole circuit or that it was never completed.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1985, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.278 site 14 (checked) (Series). SNN77383.

<2> Baker Rev.R.S., 1891, Hunsbury or Danes' Camp, 21/66 (checked) (Article). SNN46565.

<3> GEORGE T.J., 1917, Early man in Northamptonshire with particular reference to the late Celtic period as illustrated by Hunsbury Camp, p.3 (checked) (Report). SNN71868.

<4> Doubleday H A (ed), 1902, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Northamptonshire, p.147 (checked) (Series). SNN100368.

<5> Fell, C.I., 1936, The Hunsbury Hill-Fort, Northants. A new survey of the material, p.58 (checked) (Journal). SNN105242.

<6> Jackson, D. & Tingle, M., 2012, An Archaeological Survey of the Hunsbury Hillfort Defences, 37/129, 132 (checked) (Article). SNN108365.

Record last edited

Dec 7 2012 2:33PM