Summary
A small Iron Age multivallate hillfort.
Reasons for Designation
Bury Hillfort, an Iron Age multivallate hillfort, is scheduled for the following principal reasons:
* Survival: although affected by tree growth and localised quarrying, the impressive ramparts survive in a good state of preservation;
* Potential: the hillfort retains considerable archaeological potential with the preservation of features, buried soils and artefactual and environmental evidence relating to its date, form of construction and use, with potential to contribute to our understanding of the social organisation of the area during the prehistoric period;
* Rarity: multivallate hillforts are rare, there being only about 100 examples recorded nationally;
* Documentation: antiquarian documentation and excavations, together with more recent study and geophysical analysis provide an increased understanding of the monument.
History
Bury Hillfort is a small multivallate hillfort. Such monuments are fortified enclosures of varying shape, generally between 1 and 5ha in size and located on hilltops. They are defined by boundaries consisting of two or more lines of closely set earthworks spaced at intervals of up to 15m. Earthworks may consist of a rampart alone or of a rampart and ditch which, on many sites, are associated with counterscarp banks and internal quarry scoops. Access to the interior is generally provided by one or two entrances, either simple gaps in the earthwork or inturned passages, sometimes with guardrooms. Interiors may provide evidence of settlement.
Bury Hillfort dates from the Iron Age, and stands near the centre of the lower Severn Vale, north of the conurbation of Bristol. It was known to antiquarians and is mentioned in Atkyn’s The Ancient and Present State of Glocestershire (1768) and Rudder’s A New History of Gloucestershire (1779). The first detailed survey was made in 1821 by Seyer, and a century later by Burrow, with an accompanying illustration. The underlying Pennant sandstone has been quarried for building stone since the C17, with some encroachment onto the west side of the hillfort, destroying most of the western ramparts and part of the interior. This raised the concern of the Bristol and Gloucester Archaeological Society, who visited the hillfort in 1919. The University of Bristol Speleological Society (UBSS) surveyed the site in 1926; the subsequent report (Wilmore & Tratman) shows the form of the ramparts and the principal internal earthworks. Partial excavations were made the following year by the UBSS and an excavation report published (Davies & Philips), but the archive and most finds were destroyed in the Second World War. A trench was excavated through the inner northern rampart, revealing the construction of large Pennant sandstone slabs, with smaller slabs forming a possible revetment. A number of trenches were made in the interior, uncovering various features including foundation walls, paving and post holes. The 1926 report interprets this as a Roman military structure, though more recent reinterpretation has shown there to be pillow mounds. Finds included several querns, spindle whorls and Iron Age and Roman pottery, and there was also evidence of iron working and coal, plus a few Bronze Age artefacts and flint implements. The interior of the hillfort is said to have been partially levelled in the mid-C20.
The hillfort and its immediate environs have been subject to more recent archaeological investigations (Adams, 2015). This synthesises earlier information with Lidar, ground based and aerial photography, and a geophysics survey of the interior. This has contributed to our knowledge of the site, and confirmed the presence and documentary history of post-medieval pillow mounds.
Details
Principal elements: the monument includes the earthwork and buried remains of a small multivallate contour hillfort situated on the plateau of Bury Hill, near the centre of the lower Severn Vale, about half-way between the estuary and the Cotswold escarpment. It directly overlooks the valley of the River Frome to the north and west, and its tributaries to the east and south-west. The plateau is not greatly elevated above the land beyond these rivers and although there are extensive views to the south, views to the north are restricted by the higher ground of Winterbourne Down on the opposite bank of the Frome. There are long views to the west and south-west.
Description: the hillfort occupies the western end of a small plateau of Pennant sandstone, utilising the natural slopes in its south-western ramparts. Roughly oval on plan, measuring up to 180m north to south and 102m east to west internally, covering an area of approximately 2ha. It is defined by two closely-spaced concentric ramparts with ditches which survive differentially. The hillfort has been subject to quarrying on the west side so the defences, and part of the interior in this area have been lost. Elsewhere, defences survive as a buried features or earthworks up to 3.6m deep. Both rampart banks vary, but are up to 3m high. A slight outer ditch to the north and further traces to the north-east, south-east and south were described in the report of an excavation carried out in 1926 (Davies & Phillips 1927). There are three entrances; recent research suggests the two on the north are insertions, whereas the simple entrance to the south-east is probably original.
There are a number of low earthworks within the enclosure. Most prominent is a curving bank, raised approximately 300mm, running from the south-east entrance towards the quarry to the west. Constructed from stone, and very probably a track for quarry wagons. There are various earthworks in the northern half, perceptible as low banks and sunken enclosures, though more clearly visible on Lidar and aerial photographs. The site was subject to partial excavations in 1926 which identified a rectangular structure on the western side, since proven to be a pillow mound of post-medieval date. The 1927 excavations recovered a large quantity of C3 to C4 pottery and other finds suggesting use during the Romano-British period. Pottery from the site in general was of Iron Age or Romano-British date although earlier finds of a Palaeolithic blade and a polished mace-head were made prior to the excavations in 1926. The C21 geophysical survey confirmed the presence of buried features related to the pillow mounds.
Extent of Scheduling: the scheduling aims to protect the known full extent of the hillfort, including its outer and inner banks, the ditch and interior. The maximum extent of the monument is 260m north-south and 165m east-west. A 5m margin around the hillfort is included for the support and protection of the monument along the south and north-east; elsewhere, boundary walls define the extent. The scheduled area extends to the edge of the quarry on the west.
Exclusions: all fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath these features is included.
