Hillfort known as Greenway Camp, immediately north east of Cart Wood

Reasons for Designation

Multiple enclosure forts comprise an inner and one or more outer enclosed areas, together measuring up to c.10ha, and defined by sub-circular or sub- rectangular earthworks spaced at intervals which exceed 15m; the inner enclosure is usually entirely surrounded by a bank and ditch. The forts date mainly to the Late Iron Age (350 BC-c.AD 50) and in England usually occur in the south west. Most are sited on hillslopes overlooked by higher ground near a water supply, and many were apparently used for periods of up to 250 years. The outer enclosures of the forts are usually interpreted as areas set aside for the containment of livestock, whilst the inner enclosures are generally thought to have been the focus of occupation. The earthworks usually include a bank with an outer V-shaped ditch 1m-3m deep. Entrances are generally single gaps through each line of defence, often aligned to create a passage from the outer to the inner enclosure, although there are a few examples where entrances through successive earthworks are not in alignment. Occasionally the interval between the gaps is marked by inturned ramparts or low banks and ditches, while the outer entrance may be screened by a short length of earthwork. Excavations within the inner enclosures have revealed a range of buildings and structures, including circular structures, hearths, ovens and cobbled surfaces as well as occasional small pits and large depressions which may have functioned as watering holes. Multiple enclosure forts are relatively rare with only around 75 examples recorded in England, mostly in Devon and Cornwall. Outside these counties their distribution becomes increasingly scattered and the form and construction methods more varied. They are important for the study of settlement and stock management in the later prehistoric period, and most well-preserved examples will be identified as being of national importance.

Despite slight damage by ploughing and stock erosion, the multiple enclosure fort known as Greenway Camp will retain features relating to the development and use of the site. Stratified archaeological deposits are likely to survive in the ditches, ramparts and interior of this previously unexcavated hillfort and will add considerably to the future understanding of this monument, and hillforts in general.

Details

This monument includes a large multiple enclosure hillfort, on a steep south facing promontory overlooking the estuary of the River Dart. The monument survives with an irregular oval inner enclosure aligned north east to south west, its sloping interior measuring up to 90m wide and 165m long, tapering down to a narrow south west corner. Evidence for two periods of construction is supported by traces of a curving rampart across the interior, belonging to an earlier roughly circular enclosure at the north end of the site. This rampart, forming the earlier enclosure's south side, survives in a reduced state and measures 10m wide, falling 2m to the south onto a narrow terrace on the site of the outer ditch, while a counterscarp bank 2m wide falls a further 0.5m. A kink in the eastern rampart indicates the point where the later enclosure was added to the earlier one. The ramparts of the later enclosure survive well, their earth banks measuring from 2m to 5m wide, rising between 0.4m to 2.5m from the interior and falling from 2m to 3.5m into an outer ditch. This ditch survives best on the east side and measures up to 13m wide and up to 1.5m deep, with traces of an upcast bank on its outer side. A second rampart, lying 30m outside the first on its north east side, forms an outwork protecting the approach to the main entrance, which lies at its south end. Its bank measures 6m wide and rises up to 2m from the interior, falling from 2.5m to 3m into an outer ditch 8m to 10m wide and 0.4m deep. The outwork curves back to join the inner defences just south of the main, entrance, which crosses the inner ditch on a causeway and passes through a gap in the inner ramparts. A second entrance at the south west corner of the fort passes through a narrow gap in the defences and is protected by a crescent shaped outwork. This outwork survives as a scarp in the steep slope immediately west of the fort and measures 45m long, with a rampart 14m wide falling 2m to a slight terrace on the site of its outer ditch. A boundary work attached to the ramparts just west of this entrance runs for at least 85m into the valley to the south. It has a 13m wide and 0.5m high and a ditch 6m wide and 0.3m deep on its east side.

North of the fort a long outwork, roughly east-west aligned, a long outwork cuts off the approach down the broad spur to the fort. Its bank measures from 3m to 6m wide, rising up to 2m from the interior and falling 1.5m to an outer ditch 13m wide and 0.4m deep. It begins immediately above the stream which runs down the north western side of the spur, and terminates at the crest of the valley on the east side of the fort. Just north of the terminal, an additional ditchless rampart returns along the contour to the west, to a point where a track which climbs the valley side from the south west passes through an oblique entrance. This additional rampart measures 10m wide, rising 0.2m above ground to the north and falling 0.8m to the south. The entrance measures 15m wide, the rampart terminals overlapping for a distance of 30m. The rampart continues along the contour to the WSW as a slight scarp, returning to the inner enclosure of the fort.

The fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath them 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:

33792

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
MPP fieldwork by R Waterhouse, Waterhouse, R, (2000)

End of official list entry

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