Details

The monument includes a large univallate hillfort on the summit of a high hill
in the northern Quantocks, and a round mound within the ramparts which has
been interpreted as a Bronze Age round barrow. The site commands extensive
views, particularly of the Bristol Channel coastline.

The fort is oval in shape, with ramparts enclosing an area of 2.7ha. The
defences, which follow the natural contours of the hill, include a rampart
c.1.5m high and outer ditch forming a drop of c.2m-3m, and a counterscarp bank
up to 1.5m high beyond the ditch on all but parts of the north and west sides.
The rampart has tumbled into the ditch for a stretch along the south.

There are two original entrances to the fort. On the north west is a simple
causeway and gap leading from the plateau below. On the eastern tip,
approached up the ridge of the hill, is a more complex entrance. The line of
the southern rampart is truncated at the end, creating a slight inturned
effect. It appears that something similar was present on the north but the
rampart has been disturbed in more recent times and part of the ditch
infilled. The entranceway leads between these ramparts, inside which are the
remains of two flanking stone structures including circular guardhouses, the
whole creating an inturned passageway.

A post was erected on the eastern tip of the fort at the coronation of George
V; this has now fallen. Local people remember a wartime emplacement here, and
this may account for the disturbance near the entranceway.

Just inside the ramparts at the north west end of the fort is a low, round
flat-topped mound, ditched into the slope. This has been described as a round
barrow, earlier than the fort, though possibly later reused as a post-
prehistoric fire beacon mound.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Large univallate hillforts are defined as fortified enclosures of varying
shape, ranging in size between 1ha and 10ha, located on hilltops and
surrounded by a single boundary comprising earthworks of massive proportions.
They date to the Iron Age period, most having been constructed and used
between the fourth century BC and the first century AD, although evidence for
earlier use is present at most sites. The size of the earthworks reflects the
ability of certain social groups to mobilise the labour necessary for works on
such a monumental scale, and their function may have had as much to do with
display as defence. Large univallate hillforts are also seen as centres of
redistribution, both for subsistence products and items produced by craftsmen.
The ramparts are of massive proportions except in locations where steepness of
slope precludes easy access. They can vary between 6m and 20m wide and may
survive to a height of 6m. The ditches can measure between 6m and 13m wide and
between 3m and 5m deep. Access to the interior is generally provided by one or
two entrances which often take the form of long passages formed by inturned
ramparts and originally closed by a gate located towards the inner end of the
passageway. The entrance may be flanked by guardrooms and/or accompanied by
outworks. Internal features included timber or stone round houses; large
storage pits and hearths; scattered postholes, stakeholes and gullies; and
square or rectangular buildings supported by four to six posts, often
represented by postholes, and interpreted as raised granaries. Large
univallate hillforts are rare with between 50 and 100 examples recorded
nationally. Most are located within southern England where they occur on the
chalklands of Wessex, Sussex and Kent. The western edge of the distribution is
marked by scattered examples in north Somerset and east Devon, while further
examples occur in central and western England and outliers further north.
Within this distribution considerable regional variation is apparent, both in
their size, rampart structure and the presence or absence of individual
components. In view of the rarity of large univallate hillforts and their
importance in understanding the organisation and regional structure of Iron
Age society, all examples with surviving archaeological remains are believed
to be of national importance.

Dowsborough hillfort survives as a good example of its class. This site is
unusual in that it retains the upstanding remains of an inturned entrance
passage with guardhouses. The barrow will contain evidence for the earlier use
of the hill, and for possible reuse as a fire beacon mound in historical
times.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Lawrence, P, Quantock Country, (1952), 28
Other
Second-hand information, Croft, R, (1993)

Source: Historic England