Monument record 1677/1/9 - Hillfort Defences

{1} Excavation of 1952; 2 trenches were cut across the inner bank & ditch on the north-east and south-east sides of Hunsbury Hillfort. The north-east trench revealed a ditch c.8m deep with a timber-laced rampart.

{3} The ditch: the ditch was 5m deep and showed no evidence of recutting
The rampart: the rampart stood to a max height of 1.7m but was truncated at the rear by previous quarrying and erosion. The core consisted almost entirely of horizontally laid ironstone or sandstone rubble but a layer of burnt limestone occurred on the south side of the cutting at a height of 0.8m-1.04m. The rubble is therefore likely to have derived from the upper levels fo the adjacent ditch. Remnants of a 'limestone wall' occurred at the rear but towards the east gave way to simlar sized pieces of stone. The rampart was timber strengthened and of the eight recorded post holes, five were on the line of the rear revetment. These posts were set in individual holes and not in a continuous trench. They were irregular in alignment and spacing. Two of the post holes found beneath the rampart were roughly at right angles to its alignment and may have formed a row with one of the posts in the rear revetment. A line of burnt material and a possible burnt horizontal timer were seen in assocation with the post holes. The position or nature of the rampart face could not be clearly established. A vertical break in the stratigraphy adjacent to the post hole at the north end might suggest that the front of the rampart was revetted by post-supported timber planking. The post hole at the east end apprars to have been embedded in the "stone wall".

{4} This section is presumably to be interpreted as a wall and berm defence.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1985, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.279/Site 14 (checked) (Series). SNN77383.

<2> Northampton Museum Records, Lecture Note (unchecked) (Uncertain). SNN126.

<3> JACKSON D., 1994, Excavations of the hillfort defences at Hunsbury, Northampton, in 1952 and 1988, 25/9-10 (checked) (Article). SNN76105.

<4> ATKINSON R.J.C., 1987, Letter re. excavation of Hunsbury hillfort, (checked) (Letter). SNN46566.

Record last edited

Dec 7 2012 2:54PM