Summary
The monument is located in the area of Botany Hill, on the north-west promontory of Crooksbury Common, a prominent greensand knoll. It consists of an oval enclosure identified as the remains of a slight univallate hillfort, including earthwork and buried remains. The monument has an internal area of around 40m which is surrounded by a bank and outer ditch, with additional defences to north-east, north, west and south west. Formerly thought to be open on the east side, recent (2022) geophysical investigation indicates the ring of defences continued round to the east and south, surviving as buried features.
Reasons for Designation
The earthwork and buried remains at Botany Hill, Farnham, Waverley, Surrey, is scheduled for the following principal reasons:
* Survival: the probable univallate hillfort survives comparatively well including the earthwork and buried remains of the outer defences on most sides of the enclosure.
* Documentation: the understanding of the monument is further enhanced by archaeological documentation, including the recent geophysical survey.
* Potential: the site is known to contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to the monument and the landscape in which it was constructed.
* Group value: together with the comparable site of Soldiers Ring, 500m to the east, the site will enhance our understanding of settlement and social organisation of the later prehistoric period in this area.
History
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 (fifth to eighth centuries BC), the majority being used for 150 to 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 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. 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.
The earthwork and buried remains on Botany Hill are considered to be a defensive feature. The site has been identified as a probable slight univallate hillfort, it being a similar in size, form, and siting to the Soldier’s Ring (scheduled, National Heritage List for England (NHLE) entry 1007885), located 500m to the east, which has also been interpreted as a hillfort.
From the mid-C20 houses began to be constructed in the areas to the north, east and south west of the monument including Hillbrow, in the grounds of which most of the monument is located. The Epoch a5 Ordnance Survey Map (1:2500, published 1974) depicts an enclosure surrounded by a set of earthworks. In 1980 a measured earthwork survey was made and it depicts the remains as including an inner bank and single ditch with additional defensive features to the south west, west and north, curving in a C-shape, open on its east side. Due to the apparent lack of visible earthworks on the east side, it was suggested that the defensive feature was either incomplete, or that it had been constructed as a continuous circuit and the ground had been levelled overtime on its east side.
In the early 1990s a review of the scheduled area was undertaken as part of the English Heritage Monuments Protection Programme. In 1993 the eastern side of the site, within the grounds of Hillbrow, was the subject to a topographical survey; the survey identified a hollow on the north-east side of the enclosure which was interpreted as a hollow way. In the same year small-scale excavation was also undertaken consisting of two trenches, one located to the south-west and the other to the west of Hillbrow. The conclusion of the archaeological assessment was that the excavations did not reveal any archaeologically-significant evidence to support the suggestion that the perimeter defences originally formed a continuous circuit. Following these investigations, the scheduled area was amended, including to remove an area extending east of Hillbrow.
In 2022 a desk-based assessment of the site was undertaken including the study of Lidar using 1m resolution Digital Terrain Modelling (DTM); the Lidar data depicted earthwork features on the south-west and west side of the site, continuing round to the north-east. The faint line of a possible bank or ditch appears to continue around to the east and south. The Lidar data indicates the earthworks had a rounder form than depicted on post-Second World War Ordnance Survey mapping. In 2023 two areas near to the scheduled monument were subject to Ground Penetrating Radar survey; one located on the projected east side of the enclosure, and the other area to the north-east of Hillbrow. Within the area of the projected east side of the enclosure, several features were identified including two curving anomalies which have been interpreted as possible evidence of the enclosure defences continuing around to the east. These buried features may indicate that the eastern side of the site may have been affected by the build-up of material rather than the reduction of the ground level, as has been previously suggested. A rectilinear feature was also identified in this survey location; these seem unrelated to the enclosure and most likely relate to later structures on this site. There remains the potential for an entrance to the enclosure to have been present on the south or south-east side of the site.
Details
The monument is located in the area of Botany Hill, on the north-west promontory of Crooksbury Common, a prominent greensand knoll. It consists of an oval enclosure identified as the remains of a slight univallate hillfort, including earthwork and buried remains. The monument has an internal area of around 40m which is surrounded by a bank and outer ditch, with additional defences to north-east, north, west and south-west. Formerly thought to be open on the east side, recent (2022) geophysical investigation indicates the ring of defences continued round to the east and south, surviving as buried features.
DESCRIPTION: on the south-west side, the bank survives to a height of 0.5m and is 6m wide. The ditch has become partially infilled over the years but is visible as an earthwork feature. It measures 6m wide and 1m deep on the south-west side, and can be followed around the enclosure to the west and north as a terrace up to 4m wide, around 2m below the level of the hilltop. Beyond the ditch to the south-west is an outer counterscarp bank 1.2m high and 5m wide. From the west around to the north-east, the natural steep slope of the hill has been scarped for additional defences.
The area to the east is open, and previously it has been suggested the monument was incomplete on this side. In 2022 geophysical survey identified two buried curvilinear features located 1.9 to 2.1m below the surface, orientated north-west to south-east, and separated by around 6m. The westernmost feature is around 4m wide; the easternmost feature is 2m wide. The features may represent backfilled ditches or material associated with an internal rampart; the later interpretation could indicate that the ditch may lie further east. The most recent evidence indicates that the enclosure's perimeter continued curving around to the east. A series of buried linear features were also identified by the 2023 geophysical survey in this area; they are of an undetermined nature.
It has been recorded that considerable numbers of calcined flint pot-boilers have been found in rabbit scrapes inside the enclosure over the years.
EXCLUSIONS: all fences and fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them is included.
EXTENT OF SCHEDULING: the site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2m boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.
