Description

The monument comprises the remains of a hillfort, which probably dates to the Iron Age period (c. 800 BC - AD 74, the Roman conquest of Wales). Hillforts are usually located on hilltops and surrounded by a single or multiple earthworks of massive proportions. Hillforts must have formed symbols of power within the landscape, while their function may have had as much to do with ostentation and display as defence. Burfa Camp is a large elongated contour fort measuring c.600m east-west by a maximum of c.180m, being widest at the east end. It encloses c.5.9ha on the summit of a prominent hill overlooking the valley of the Hindwell brook, and is situated at the eastern end of the Walton basin. It has turf and scrub-covered banks and some trees in the interior. The defences primarily consist of a single bank between c.0.75 and c.1.5m high with an external ditch up to c.0.9m deep that shows only as a terrace in some places on the south, although there is an external counterscarp bank on the north. For a length of c.150m from the western corner, however, the defences on the north consist of two banks, rising to c.3.5m internally and c.6m above the median ditch, with an external counterscarp beyond the outer ditch. An oblique barbican entrance lies at the eastern end of this double stretch.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of later prehistoric defensive organisation and settlement. The site forms an important element within the wider later prehistoric context and within the surrounding landscape. The site is well preserved and retains considerable archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of evidence relating to chronology, building techniques and functional detail.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.

Source: Cadw