Higher Bury 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 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.

Despite later reuse of the area, Higher Bury Camp survives well and contains archaeological and environmental information relating to the settlement and exploitation of this area during the Iron Age.

Details

This monument includes an Iron Age slight univallate hillfort situated on a hilltop on the watershed between the Ford Brook to the west and River Culvery to the east. The interior of the hillfort survives as a sub-triangular enclosure which measures 97m from south west to north east and 80m from north west to south east. The surrounding ramparts vary considerably in size, with the western side measuring up to 9.3m wide and 1.6m high, whilst on the northern circuit it reaches 2.7m high and elsewhere averages 1m high. On the western side an outer ditch measuring up to 8.1m wide and 0.7m deep is visible and on the western edge of this is an outer bank which is partly preserved by a boundary running in a north westerly direction. On the eastern side of the hillfort traces of a 9.8m wide and 0.3m deep ditch survive, where it has been reused as a track. A field boundary lies just to the south of the rampart on the south eastern corner, but this boundary turns and crosses over the rampart and into the enclosed area itself to the south west before continuing away from the monument in a WSW direction. The south western corner may reflect the original simple entrance to the enclosure. A field shelter, portable feeding trough and chain link and post fence are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath is included. A well in the south eastern corner of the enclosure is totally excluded from the scheduling.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 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:

28619

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
National Archaeological Record, SX79NE2, (1969)
Devon County Sites and Monuments Register, SX79NE2, (1985)
MPP fieldwork by H. Gerrard, (1995)

End of official list entry

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