Oakmere promontory fort on the east bank of Oakmere 300m north west of Corner Farm

Reasons for Designation

Promontory forts are a type of hillfort in which conspicuous naturally defended sites are adapted as enclosures by the construction of one or more earth or stone ramparts placed across the neck of a spur in order to divide it from the surrounding land. Coastal situations, using headlands defined by steep natural cliffs, are common while inland similar topographic settings defined by natural cliffs are also used. The ramparts and accompanying ditches formed the main artificial defence, but timber palisades may have been erected along the cliff edges. Access to the interior was generally provided by an entrance through the ramparts. The interior of the fort was used intensively for settlement and related activities, and evidence for timber- and stone- walled round houses can be expected, together with the remains of buildings used for storage and enclosures for animals. Promontory forts are generally Iron Age in date, most having been constructed and used between the sixth century BC and the mid-first century AD. They are broadly contemporary with other types of hillfort. They are regarded as settlements of high status, probably occupied on a permanent basis, and recent interpretations suggest that their construction and choice of location had as much to do with display as defence. Promontory forts are rare nationally with less than 100 recorded examples. In view of their rarity and their importance in the understanding of the nature of social organisation in the later prehistoric period, all examples with surviving archaeological remains are considered nationally important.



The promontory fort at Oakmere survives well in spite of the fragility of its construction from the sands and gravels of the Cheshire plain. The rampart and ditch are well defined and the shallow ploughing of the interior will not have severely damaged the evidence of dwellings and settlement remains in the interior.

Details

The monument includes a univallate (single rampart) promontory fort located on the east bank of Oakmere 300m north west of Corner Farm. It is situated on the level glacial outwash sands and gravels which surround Oakmere. The landscape is gently undulating with open water, the meres, occupying the shallow depressions.

The monument has a single bank with an external ditch which curves around the neck of a promontory jutting out into the Oakmere defining a triangular interior whose sides are approximately 200m long. The approach from the west is level with a small natural gully on the north west side of the fort.

The bank or rampart has been spread by cultivation to 30m wide at its widest point but still stands to a height of 2m through most of its length. The ditch from which the material for the rampart was derived is 18m wide and 1.5m deep on average. At its northern end the ditch is 2.5m deep where it meets the terrace which represents the original water level of the mere at the time of the construction of the fort. At the southern end the ditch has been cut around the terminal of the bank to form a narrow entrance with a steep slope on the southern side.

The southern and northern sides of the fort are naturally defended by steep slopes down to the narrow terrace on the bank of the mere. In the centre of the rampart there is a causeway across the ditch and a gap in the bank which has been formed more recently to make access to the interior for farm machinery.

The interior area is 0.9ha in extent and has been cultivated over many years. There is no visible trace of internal features although significant remains will exist beneath the modern ground surface. The bedrock has been exposed in some areas. There is a suggestion of a defensive bank along the north side to reinforce the slope.

An excavation trench across the bank and ditch in 1960 revealed that the rampart was of simple dump construction possibly reinforced with timber and that the ditch was round bottomed and 2.5m deep at that point.

The fort is unusual in being on the low-lying sandy plain. This suggests that it was a defended settlement in an area of farmland used both for stock rearing and arable. The type of site is one of a group of promontory forts in Cheshire. Most of these are on more commanding positions on spurs overlooking the coastal plain or the wide valley of the Dee.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 5 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

25688

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Longley, D, Prehistoric Sites in Cheshire, (1979), 46
Forde-Johnston, J, Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Archaeological Society in Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Archaeological Society, (1962), 21-23

Other
Cheshire SMR, (1994)

End of official list entry

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