Barnmoor Wood camp

Reasons for Designation

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 between 150 and 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 include square or rectangular buildings supported by four to six postholes and interpreted as raised granaries, timber or stone round houses, large storage pits and hearths as well as scattered postholes, stakeholes and gullies. 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.

Barnmoor Wood camp survives well and is a good example of this type of hillfort. The interior of the site will retain buried structural and artefactual evidence for the development and occupation of the hillfort. The defensive ditch will retain important environmental evidence for the economy of its inhabitants.

Details

The monument is situated in an isolated context, approximately 110m NW of Cherry Pool Farm in the parish of Claverdon, and includes a slight univallate hillfort of Iron Age date. Barnmoor Wood camp is located on the southern edge of a slight plateau. The defensive earthworks of the site enclose a raised central area of approximately 1ha. The defences include a ditch, an internal bank and traces of a counterscarp bank along the southern edge of the site. It is thought that the slope of the hillside made a counterscarp on the northern and eastern sides of the hillfort unnecessary. The 8m wide ditch is approximately 3m deep and the internal bank is up to 12m wide at its base and 1m high. The outer edge of the ditch has been partly damaged at the south-eastern corner of the site, probably by quarrying. Access into the interior of the hillfort is currently by means of causeways across the central part of the western defences and at the north-eastern corner of the site. The latter is a 5m wide inturned, or funnel, entrance and may represent the original entrance to the site. The interior is almost oval in plan and measures approximately 125m west-east and 100m north-south. No internal earthworks are visible, although the remains of internal structures will survive beneath the ground surface. All fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, but the ground beneath these features is included.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

21548

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
The Victoria History of the County of Warwickshire: Volume I, (1904), 375

Other
Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record, No. 948,

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