Summary

An Iron Age defended settlement 180m north east of Berra Tor.

Source: Historic England

Details

This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 12 November 2015. This record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

This monument includes an Iron Age defended settlement situated on the summit of a prominent ridge Berra Tor, above the steeply sided valley of the River Tavy, south of its confluence with the River Walkham. The defended settlement survives as an oval enclosure defined by a rampart bank, which is preserved differentially and measures up to a maximum 17m wide and 1.7m high, surrounded by a partially buried outer ditch of up to 5m wide and 0.8m deep. Parts of the rampart and ditch have been re-used as field boundaries, hence the differential preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

During the Iron Age a variety of different types of settlement were constructed and occupied in south western England. At the top of the settlement hierarchy were hillforts built in prominent locations. In addition to these a group of smaller sites, known as defended settlements, were also constructed. Some of these were located on hilltops, others in less prominent positions. They are generally smaller than the hillforts, sometimes with an enclosed area of less than 1ha. The enclosing defences were of earthen construction. Univallate sites have a single bank and ditch, multivallate sites more than one. At some sites these earthen ramparts represent a second phase of defence, the first having been a timber fence or palisade. Where excavated, evidence of stone- or timber-built houses has been found within the enclosures, which, in contrast to the hillfort sites, would have been occupied by small communities, perhaps no more than a single family group. Defended settlements are a rare monument type. They were an important element of the settlement pattern, particularly in the upland areas of south western England, and are integral to any study of the developing use of fortified settlements during this period. Despite reduction in the height of the rampart and disturbance to the interior through cultivation as a nationally rare type of monument, the Iron Age defended settlement 180m north east of Berra Tor survives comparatively well and will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, use, strategic significance, agricultural practices and domestic arrangements.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
PastScape Monument No:-437769

Source: Historic England