Reasons for Designation
Ringworks are medieval fortifications built and occupied from the late
Anglo-Saxon period to the later 12th century. They comprised a small defended
area containing buildings which was surrounded or partly surrounded by a
substantial ditch and a bank surmounted by a timber palisade or, rarely, a
stone wall. Occasionally a more lightly defended embanked enclosure, the
bailey, adjoined the ringwork. Ringworks acted as strongholds for military
operations and in some cases as defended aristocratic or manorial settlements.
They are rare nationally with only 200 recorded examples and less than 60
with baileys. As such, and as one of a limited number and very restricted
range of Anglo-Saxon and Norman fortifications, ringworks are of particular
significance to our understanding of the period.
Details
The monument includes a medieval ringwork, prominently situated on a glacial
spur of sand and gravel overlooking the village of Hunworth to the south west
and commanding two crossings of the River Glaven. To the east, south and south
west, where the river bends sharply around the foot of the spur, the ground
drops steeply to the valley 15m below, but to the north it slopes more
gently to a slight hollow. The ringwork, which has an overall diameter of
approximately 95m, occupies the highest part of the spur and is visible as a
penannular earthwork enclosure surrounded by an inner bank, a ditch and a
slight counterscarp bank. On the north west side a hollowed causeway across
the ditch and corresponding gaps in the inner bank and counterscarp bank mark
the site of what is believed to be an original entrance. The inner bank is
most clearly defined on the north and east side of the enclosure, where it
stands to a height of up to 1.5m above the level of the ground surface in the
interior and measures about 15m wide at the base. During limited excavations
conducted by the Norfolk Research Committee in 1965, the inner face of the
bank on the east side was examined and traces of a possible timber revetment
observed, backed by the remains of a bank of turf which may have been
constructed as part of the preliminary marking out of the enclosure. The
counterscarp bank remains visible on the north, north east and south west
sides of the enclosure and is about 0.5m in height, although on all but the
east side the ground drops away steeply below it. The ditch remains open to a
depth of between 0.6m and 1.3m below the level of the counterscarp bank except
on the south and part of the west side, where it is marked only by a slight
ledge in the natural slope. The excavation in 1965 established that on the
north side of the enclosure it was originally about 2.9m deep with steeply
sloping sides and a flat bottom 3.3m wide. The lower part had become infilled
with gravel from the inner bank not very long after construction, which
suggests that the ringwork may have been in use for only a short period of
time.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
21440
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
