Details

The monument includes a large univallate hillfort situated on the spur of
Cadbury Hill, a carboniferous limestone ridge orientated from north-east to
south-west, overlooking the valley of the Congresbury Yeo to the south and an
extensive area of Levels to the west and north.
The hillfort, known as Cadbury-Congresbury, has a sloping sub-rectangular
interior with maximum dimensions of 340m east-west by 125m north-south,
narrowing to 68m from north-south in the centre. The eastern end of the fort
is c.40m higher than the western end. A number of hut circles in the western
half of the hillfort's interior have been recorded by antiquarians.
Surrounding the interior is a system of ramparts which vary in size and
complexity according to the nature of the associated topography. The northern,
southern and western peripheries of the hillfort are bounded by steep slopes
which provide a good natural defence; here the monument is defined by a single
stone-built rampart comprising a bank 10m wide and 1m high which
on the southern side is bounded by an external terrace 15m wide. On the
northern side there are known to be traces of an internal ditch which would
have provided additional stone for the bank. The total width of the rampart
in these areas of the monument is 25m.
On the south-west side the slopes encircling the periphery of the hillfort
are less steep and an additional internal rampart was constructed to enhance
the defences in this area. This rampart included a bank which survives to a
width of 10m and is c.0.5m high.
The north-eastern area of the hilltop was its most vulnerable, as land beyond
the monument is almost level with its interior. In order to compensate for
this, the defences in this area were developed into a more sophisticated
multivallate system. The resulting earthworks included three banks 10m-15m
wide and c.1.5m high, each of which was bounded by an external ditch 10m wide.
The banks stand up to 3m above the bases of their associated ditches and the
ramparts have a total width of 62.5m. There is a possible entrance to the
interior of the monument at this eastern end.
Partial excavation of the monument in 1959 and 1970 has confirmed an Iron
Age date for the hillfort. Hut circles, post holes, large quantities of Iron
Age pottery and 830 sling-stones were recorded from within the interior of the
monument.
The excavations also demonstrated that the hilltop was occupied before and
after the Iron Age. The earliest evidence for human activity on the hilltop
includes a quantity of Neolithic flintwork comprising blades and waste flakes,
as well as two barbed and tanged arrowheads dating from the Bronze Age.
Occupation of the hilltop can also be attested during the later Romano-
British period, as two hearths and an associated rectangular building which
were discovered within the interior have been dated to between AD 430-450.
Later, the hilltop appears to have become re-fortified, as between AD 450-480
a stone based timber-framed rampart was constructed over the area occupied
during the late Romano-British period. These later defences, which are
orientated north-south within the area of the Iron Age hillfort, fell out of
use by the sixth century AD. A further phase of occupation then developed
over the area of these ramparts. This late occupation included eight huts, two
of which were circular with diameters of 15m, as well as a rectangular
structure with dimensions of 8m by 3m.
Finds from this period were recovered during the excavations. These included
Romano-British pottery, Roman and post-Roman beads, glass, bricks, bronze and
iron objects including four penannular brooches, as well as local, Gaulish and
Mediterranean pottery dating to the fifth and sixth centuries AD.
Some of the pottery recovered from the site had been inscribed with symbols
and it has been suggested that the later settlement may have been associated
with a pagan or early Christian shrine.
Excluded from the scheduling are all fence posts and notice boards although
the ground beneath all these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 5 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.

The large univallate hillfort on Cadbury Hill survives well and is known from
previous excavation to contain archaeological and environmental information
relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed and
later re-used.
This is one of a number of well preserved hillforts surviving locally.
Together, these will provide an insight into the Iron Age communities of the
area, their economy and the political and social structure of which they were
a part.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Alcock, L, Arthur`s Britain, (1971), 219
Lay, S E, A Parish survey of Congresbury, (1978), 2
Lay, S E, A Parish survey of Congresbury, (1978), 2
Fowler, P J, Gardner, K S, Rahtz, P A, 'Proc Som Arch Nat Hist Soc' in Excavations at Cadbury-Congresbury, Somerset, 1971, , Vol. 115, (1971), 52
Fowler, P J, Gardner, K S, Rahtz, P A, 'Proc Som Arch Nat Hist Soc' in Excavations at Cadbury-Congresbury, Somerset, 1971, , Vol. 115, (1971), 51
Fowler, P J, Gardner, K S, Rahtz, P A, 'Proc Som Arch Nat Hist Soc' in Excavations at Cadbury-Congresbury, Somerset, 1971, , Vol. 115, (1971), 51
Fowler, P J, Gardner, K S, Rahtz, P A, 'Proc Som Arch Nat Hist Soc' in Excavations at Cadbury-Congresbury, Somerset, 1971, , Vol. 115, (1971), 51-2
Fowler, P J, Gardner, K S, Rahtz, P A, 'Proc Som Arch Nat Hist Soc' in Excavations at Cadbury-Congresbury, Somerset, 1971, , Vol. 115, (1971), 51-2
Fowler, P J, Gardner, K S, Rahtz, P A, 'Proc Som Arch Nat Hist Soc' in Excavations at Cadbury-Congresbury, Somerset, 1971, , Vol. 115, (1971), 51
Fowler, P J, Gardner, K S, Rahtz, P A, 'Proc Som Arch Nat Hist Soc' in Excavations at Cadbury-Congresbury, Somerset, 1971, , Vol. 115, (1971), 51
Rahtz, P A, Watts, L, 'The End of Roman Britain' in The End of Roman Britain, , Vol. 71, (1979), 196-9
Other
Details of finds from the site,
Reference to hut circles in west,
Reference to name Cadcong,
Reference to Roman structures,

Source: Historic England