Ancient Monuments

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Bury Hill hillfort

A Scheduled Monument in Purton, Wiltshire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 51.6097 / 51°36'35"N

Longitude: -1.9183 / 1°55'5"W

OS Eastings: 405753.303963

OS Northings: 190104.552077

OS Grid: SU057901

Mapcode National: GBR 3SC.1TC

Mapcode Global: VHB34.PSQV

Entry Name: Bury Hill hillfort

Scheduled Date: 11 December 1951

Last Amended: 23 October 1998

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1018125

English Heritage Legacy ID: 28996

County: Wiltshire

Civil Parish: Purton

Traditional County: Wiltshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Wiltshire

Church of England Parish: Purton

Church of England Diocese: Bristol

Details

The monument includes a univallate hillfort known as Bury Hill Camp, located
600m east of Bridge Farm. It is situated on the southern tip of a clay ridge
with commanding views over the clay vale to the south. The enclosed area is
ovoid and is defined by a bank up to 0.7m high and 5m wide, surrounded by a
ditch up to 1m deep and 5m wide. There is an entrance to the north west. The
monument is 180m long on the north-south axis and 135m from east to west.

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.

Bury Hill Camp survives comparatively well and will contain archaeological
and environmental evidence relating to its construction and economy, and the
landscape in which it was built.

Source: Historic England

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