Details

The hillfort occupies a prominent position on the tip of Galley Hill, a narrow
spur extending southwards from the Greensand ridge, overlooking the town of
Sandy and commanding wide views over the valley of the River Ivel.
The hillfort, which is made inaccessible by steep slopes on all but the
northern side, is rectangular in plan with rounded corners. The interior is
quite level, measuring approximately 60m north to south by 110m east to west,
and surrounded by ramparts on all but the eastern side. The northern section
of the ramparts separates the fort from the table land beyond and includes a
single inner bank, 1.5m high and 6m wide, flanked by a ditch of similar width
which is largely filled with accumulated silts and is now approximately 0.8m
deep. The defences continue around the western and southern sides of the fort
where the ditch is also accompanied by slight traces of an outer, counterscarp
bank, enhancing the defensive properties of the natural scarps. At the south
eastern corner of the enclosure the defences gently fade into the natural
contours of the spur, and the eastern arm itself appears to have relied
primarily on the severity of the natural scarp, perhaps supplemented by timber
palisades. A short continuation of the ditch from the north eastern corner
together with a slight break in slope some 9m below the summit, indicates that
some artificial modification originally took place across this slope, which
has since been masked by soil erosion.
The logical approach to the hillfort is from the level ground to the north and
there are three narrow causeways across the northern arm of the defences. Two
of these (near the corners) are relatively modern and relate to present
trackways. The third, located 30m from the eastern end, is considered likely
to be the original entrance.
The shape of the hillfort is entirely determined by the topography of the spur
and, although the resulting regularity of the design led many antiquarians to
suggest Roman influence, the type of ramparts, together with fragments of
pottery recovered from the surface of the interior, indicates an Iron Age
origin.
A promontory fort (also Iron Age in date, but considerably earlier), occupies
the tip of a second spur approximately 150m to the east of Galley Hill which
is separated by a broad dry valley. A third hillfort, Caesar's Camp, lies
approximately 1.5km to the north west and both are the subjects of separate
schedulings.

The fence and fence posts surrounding a pheasant pen in the western side of
the interior of the fort are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground
beneath these items is included.

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

Slight univallate hillforts are defined as enclosures of various shapes,
generally between 1ha and 10ha in size, situated on or close to hilltops and
defined by a single line of earthworks, the scale of which is relatively
small. They date to between the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age (eighth -
fifth centuries BC), the majority being used for 150 to 200 years prior to
their abandonment or reconstruction. Slight univallate hillforts have
generally been interpreted as stock enclosures, redistribution centres, places
of refuge and permanent settlements. The earthworks generally include a
rampart, narrow level berm, external ditch and counterscarp bank, while access
to the interior is usually provided by two entrances comprising either simple
gaps in the earthwork or an inturned rampart. Postholes revealed by excavation
indicate the occasional presence of portal gateways while more elaborate
features like overlapping ramparts and outworks are limited to only a few
examples. 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. Slight
univallate hillforts are rare with around 150 examples recorded nationally.
Although on a national scale the number is low, in Devon they comprise one of
the major classes of hillfort. In other areas where the distribution is
relatively dense, for example, Wessex, Sussex, the Cotswolds and the
Chilterns, hillforts belonging to a number of different classes occur within
the same region. Examples are also recorded in eastern England, the Welsh
Marches, central and southern England. In view of the rarity of slight
univallate hillforts and their importance in understanding the transition
between Bronze Age and Iron Age communities, all examples which survive
comparatively well and have potential for the recovery of further
archaeological remains are believed to be of national importance.

The slight univallate hillfort on Galley Hill forms part of a series of
defended sites established on the Greensand ridge during the Late Bronze Age
and Iron Age. The monument is well preserved, retaining the largely complete
circuit of defences. The interior will retain buried features related to the
period of use which, together with the silts of the ditches, will contain
artefactual evidence for the duration and the character of occupation. The
ground surface buried beneath the banks is of particular interest as it may
retain indications of earlier land use, and the material of the banks
themselves will contain evidence for their mode of construction and perhaps
the impressions of contemporary timber fortifications.
Comparison between Galley Hill and the other hillforts on the Greensand ridge,
and on the Chiltern escarpment to the south, will provide valuable information
concerning the nature of their use and their relationship to the settlement of
the surrounding countryside during the Iron Age.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Babington, C C, Ancient Cambridgeshire, (1883), 92
Fox, C, Archaeology of the Cambridge Region, (1923), 176
Page, F , The Victoria History of the County of Bedfordshire, (1904), 273
Stukeley, W, Itinarium Curiocum, (1776), 78
'Bedford Museum Society Field Club Journal and Museum Bulletin' in Bedford Museum Society Field Club Journal and Museum Bulletin, , Vol. 1, (1934), 5-6
Dyer, J, 'Bedfordshire Archaeology' in Excavations at Sandy Lodge, Bedfordshire, , Vol. 6, (1971), 9-15
Johnston, D E, 'Beds Arch J' in , , Vol. 1, (1956), 106-7
Simco, A, 'Beds Arch J' in , , Vol. 8, (1973), 14
Watkin, W T, 'Arch J' in Arch J, , Vol. 39, (1882), 269
Other
copy filed with Beds SMR 445, Aldsworth, F G, O.S. Revision Card, (1969)
site visit note in SMR, Rivet, A L F, 445, (1954)

Source: Historic England