Myrtleberry South Camp, a late prehistoric hillslope enclosure 440m south west of Waters Meet House

Reasons for Designation

Exmoor is the most easterly of the three main upland areas in the south western peninsula of England. In contrast to the other two areas, Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor, there has been no history of antiquarian research and little excavation of Exmoor monuments. However, detailed survey work by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England has confirmed a comparable richness of archaeological remains, with evidence of human exploitation and occupation from the Mesolithic period to the present day. Hillslope enclosures provide the main evidence for the Iron Age on Exmoor. First categorised by Lady Aileen Fox in 1952, their morphology has been refined by the Royal Commission survey. Despite their name they do not occur only on hillslopes, although their usual location is on a sheltered valley side. They are smaller than hillforts, generally no larger than between 50m and 80m across, and usually less well defended. The enclosure itself is defined by a single bank, often with an associated ditch, with a single entrance. In some cases, where natural slopes form part of the defences, the bank may not form a complete circuit and may be missing where the angle of slope acts in its stead. Where it can be recognised, the settlement evidence within these enclosures comprises platforms indicating the position of buildings. Around 50 hillslope enclosures with upstanding earthworks have been identified on Exmoor. They are particularly representative of their period and a substantial proportion of surviving examples, particularly those with a complete or near complete circuit of defences, are considered worthy of protection.







The hillslope enclosure of Myrtleberry South Camp survives well as a combination of buried and upstanding remains which together define the full circuit of the enclosure. The monument is situated on a valley side in a typical location for its class and exhibits several features common to a number of hillslope enclosures on Exmoor. It is part of a group of diverse and broadly contemporary monuments in the area which give an indication of the nature of settlement in the later prehistoric period. The monument will retain archaeological information relating to the construction and use of the site, the lives of its inhabitants, and the landscape in which they lived.

Details

The monument includes a late prehistoric hillslope enclosure known as Myrtleberry South Camp which is located just above an east facing valley side above the Hoaroak River. It is considered to be Iron Age in date and thus broadly contemporary with the Iron Age multiple enclosure fort of Myrtleberry North Camp which lies some 450m to the north east, and is the subject of a seperate scheduling. The enclosure, which is sub-rectangular in shape with rounded corners, has been terraced into the hillside and is defined on three sides by a single bank and ditch. The bank has an average width of 4.5m and is 0.7m high internally and 1.6m high above the external ditch which is around 4m wide. The ditch has silted up over the millennia and is no longer visible over much of its length although it will survive as a buried feature and, where it is visible at the south western and north western corners of the enclosure, it retains a depth of 0.5m. The remaining eastern side of the enclosure has been formed by excavated material from the interior having been dumped downhill to create a platform marked by an outer facing scarp up to 5m wide and 2m high which merges at its base with the natural slope of the valley side. The original entrance was probably on the northern face where there are indicative earthwork traces and a gap now occupied by a modern path; the gap which lies directly opposite in the southern face may have been created to facilitate the path and is thought to be modern. The interior of the enclosure measures about 80m north east-south west by 35m north west-south east, providing an area of about 0.28ha within which there are at least seven identifiable building platforms. Most of these platforms take the form of crescent-shaped stone-revetted scarps built against the inner western enclosure wall. They vary in their dimensions from 3m to 10m across and from 0.3m to 1.4m in height. All fixed information boards 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:

33055

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Books and journals
Riley, H, Wilson-North, R, The Field Archaeology of Exmoor, (2001), 65-70
Riley, H, Wilson-North, R, The Field Archaeology of Exmoor, (2001), Fig3.16

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