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Summary

The defences of Castle Dore consist of two circular ramparts with associated ditches.

Protected Status: None recorded

Other References/Statuses

• OS No. (OS Quarter-sheet and OS No.): SX15SW 1
• Primary Record No. (1985-2009): 26690.01
• SMR No. (OS Quarter-sheet and SMR No.): SX15SW 1

Monument Type(s):

• HILLFORT (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)

Full description

The defences of Castle Dore consist of two circular ramparts with associated ditches. The inner ditch is extant whilst that associated with the outer rampart can be traced although it is now infilled on the west side of the earthwork, the banks and ditches are contiguous whilst on the east side the banks diverge to form an enclosure in front of the inner entrance (b2). In 1849
McLauchlan published a plan which shows three circular banks with an additional outwork on the east side in a field called Castle Meadow. McLauchlan comments that this outwork was barely visible (b1). There is now no trace of this feature. Of the circular banks, McLauchlan's middle one appears to be a counterscarp from the inner ditch. Radford's excavation in 1936-37 indicated that the two ramparts were of glacis construction and originally of equal size (h1). During the occupation of the hillfort, the inner bank was raised to 2.5m high and revetted with stone. At the same time the inner entrance was re-designed with an inturned entrance passage. The outer entrance was not excavated. A ditched and banked roadway linked the two entrances, with entrances into enclosures on either side (b2). Survey by the OS indicates that other breaches in the ramparts are modern (h3).

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Site history:
2: 1969. OS
3: 1979. SHEPPARD, PA / DOE
4: 1987. LUXULYAN VALLEY PROJECT
5: 1988. PRESTON-JONES, A / HBMC
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<1> MCLAUCHLAN, H, 1849, UNKNOWN TITLE, 29-31 (Unedited Source). SCO6023.

<2> Radford, CAR, 1951, Report on the Excavations at Castle Dore, (NS) VOL 1, APPENDIX (Article in Journal). SCO5144.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

Related records

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