Balksbury hillfort

Reasons for Designation

Large univallate hillforts are defined as fortified enclosures of varying shape, ranging in size between 1ha and 10ha, located on hilltops and surrounded by a single boundary comprising earthworks of massive proportions. They date to the Iron Age period, most having been constructed and used between the fourth century BC and the first century AD, although evidence for earlier use is present at most sites. The size of the earthworks reflects the ability of certain social groups to mobilise the labour necessary for works on such a monumental scale, and their function may have had as much to do with display as defence. Large univallate hillforts are also seen as centres of redistribution, both for subsistence products and items produced by craftsmen. The ramparts are of massive proportions except in locations where steepness of slope precludes easy access. They can vary between 6m and 20m wide and may survive to a height of 6m. The ditches can measure between 6m and 13m wide and between 3m and 5m deep. Access to the interior is generally provided by one or two entrances which often take the form of long passages formed by inturned ramparts and originally closed by a gate located towards the inner end of the passageway. The entrance may be flanked by guardrooms and/or accompanied by outworks. 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. Large univallate hillforts are rare with between 50 and 100 examples recorded nationally. Most are located within southern England where they occur on the chalklands of Wessex, Sussex and Kent. The western edge of the distribution is marked by scattered examples in north Somerset and east Devon, while further examples occur in central and western England and outliers further north. Within this distribution considerable regional variation is apparent, both in their size, rampart structure and the presence or absence of individual components. In view of the rarity of large univallate hillforts and their importance in understanding the organisation and regional structure of Iron Age society, all examples with surviving archaeological remains are believed to be of national importance.

The southernmost portion of Balksbury hillfort survives well, despite some later disturbance, and will contain further archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the construction and use of the monument. Around 1km to the south west is the roughly contemporary hillfort at Bury Hill and the close association of these monuments will provide evidence for settlement in this region during the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman periods, and information about the landscape in which they were constructed.

Details

The monument includes the surviving south western end of a large univallate hillfort, dating from the Late Bronze Age (about 1100-900 BC) and occupied until the Late Roman period (about AD 400), situated on a low chalk spur overlooking the junction of the Rivers Anton and Anna (Pilhill Brook) in the southern outskirts of Andover. The original extent of the north east-south west aligned, roughly triangular hillfort, about three quarters of which has now been destroyed by the construction of the Andover Bypass and a major housing development, formerly encompassed the summit of the spur and covered an area of about 18ha. Extensive archaeological excavation of the interior and sections of the defences was undertaken in several phases between the early 1970s and the late 1990s. These, and earlier investigations of 1939 and 1967, revealed that the enclosure was defined by a single, timber revetted bank, approximately 2m high and 6m wide, and a surrounding steep-sided ditch, about 5m wide and 3m deep. Access to the interior was by way of a single, gated entrance in the south east, reached by a causeway across the ditch. Analysis of carbon samples and pottery fragments recovered during the 1970s and 1980s suggest that the defences were constructed in at least three phases during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age (1100-900BC), and that the enclosure remained in use until the Late Roman period, up to at least 400AD. The excavations also revealed evidence for intensive occupation of the interior throughout its period of use, in the form of the remains of houses and other wooden structures, pits, hearths, burials of Late Bronze Age and Roman date, and a range of artefacts including pottery and animal bone. The surviving, south western section of the enclosure has been partly disturbed by modern ploughing, the construction of the now disused Balksbury Road and the erection of fences, gates and surface structures, although remains of the southern circuit of the defences and further buried remains connected with the original use of the hillfort, will survive. All modern structures, fences, gates and road surfaces are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath these features is included.

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:

31211

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Hawkes, J, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club Archaeol. Society in The Excavations at Balksbury, 1939, Vol. 14, (1940), 291-337
Wainwright, G J, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club Archaeol. Society in The Excavation of Balksbury Camp, Andover, Hants, Vol. 26, (1969), 21-55
Wainwright, G J, Davies, S M, English Heritage Archaeological Report in Balksbury Camp, Hampshire: Excavations 1973 and 1981, Vol. 4, (1995)

Other
Wessex Archaeology, Balksbury Camp, Andover, Hants: Assess. Rep. of the 1995-96 exc., (1996)
Wessex Archaeology, Balksbury Camp, Andover, Hants: Assess. Rep. of the 1997 excav., (1997)

End of official list entry

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