Details

This monument includes a large univallate hillfort, occupying a promontory
which projects into the estuary of the River Erme. It commands a high and
prominent location with wide local views.
The monument survives as a long tapering enclosure, aligned north east to
south west, with an interior measuring up to 200m wide by 910m long, although
the north east end narrows to a maximum of 105m wide. The ramparts of the main
enclosure survive as earthworks towards the south west end of the promontory,
but elsewhere have largely been reduced. Their outer face varies between 3m
and 5.5m wide, falling up to 5m on the north into the former tidal creek, and
between 3m and 5m on the south side, where an outer ditch survives as a
terrace about 12m wide. The ramparts preserve traces of a coursed stone
revetment, bonded with clay. Fragments of this are evident on the north side
near a natural spring which lies within the rampart and also at the south
western tip of the promontory. They survive an average of 0.5m high and are
towards the top of the rampart. At the south west end of the site, a narrow
hornwork defends the north side of a steep hollow way, which entered the fort
from the beach beside the river. This hornwork utilises part of the natural
river cliff and projects about 21m from the rampart. It is between 1.3m and 2m
wide and rises about 1.5m from the hollow way, falling about 2.5m on its north
side. The former beach level to the north of this gateway was covered in the
19th century by a causeway, carrying a carriage drive which ran down the east
bank of the Erme estuary from Flete House to Erme Mouth. The causeway is not
included in the scheduling.
At the north east end of the site, the northern rampart leaves the creek side,
climbing steeply to a narrower enclosure on level ground. The nature of the
rampart changes here. Where it angles up the hillside, it survives about 3m
wide, rising 1m from the interior and falling about 2.5m to an outer ditch.
The rampart is fronted by a coursed stone wall of clay bonded rubble, about 2m
high. The outer ditch is 15m wide by 0.3m deep.
Around the eastern end of the fort there was formerly a walled enclosure which
may be evidence of refortification in the post-Roman period and perhaps the
presence of a medieval castle. This is known from 19th century sketches and
descriptions and had earth ramparts fronted by a mortared stone wall. Two
towers are recorded at the north western and south corners of this enclosure,
where a 19th century sketch shows arched gateways, the southern of which was
defended by a sub-circular stone tower. The base of this survives as a
mortared stone foundation. Earthworks mark the sites of both gates and
earthworks of a possible rampart and ditch, facing west lie between the two. A
further two possible round towers were found on this rampart line during a
geophysical survey in 1991. Fragments of a mortared stone wall facing the
southern rampart continue to be visible for at least 100m west of the southern
gateway. Part of the wall fronting the eastern rampart survives for a distance
of 35m. It stands between 1m and 2.7m high and is 1.3m thick, backed by an
earth rampart about 5m thick by 2m high. A disturbance in its centre, where
the rampart is lower, is associated with a hole in the wall 2.6m wide and a
spread of rubble to the east. This may be the site of a gate or a tower. A
berm outside this wall is 13m across, fronted by an unfinished ditch 11m wide
by 2.5m deep, with an outer glacis 7m side by 0.8m high. The ditch stops
halfway across the hilltop and cuts two parallel banks, the inner of which is
12m thick by 0.6m high and the outer 10m thick by 0.4m high.
A further line of defence lies about 55m to the north east. This has a
rampart between 3m and 10m thick and 0.4m to 0.7m high, fronted by a ditch
whose course is now followed by a metalled lane. This is about 12m wide by
2.5m deep.
A small ruined 19th century building on the northern shoreline at the south
west end of the site is dug into the rampart and is included in the
scheduling.
The modern road surfaces and fence posts are excluded from the scheduling
although the ground beneath them in 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

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.

Despite some damage to the ramparts, and hedge removal, the Iron Age
promontory fort known as Oldaport Camp is well-preserved and is known from
geophysical and earthwork survey to contain archaeological information
relating to its construction and occupation. There is a possibility that parts
of the site were refortified in the post-Roman period.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
MPP fieldwork by R Waterhouse, (1999)
Rainbird, P, Oldaport, 1991, Undergraduate thesis
Rainbird, P, Oldaport, 1991, Undergraduate thesis

Source: Historic England