| HER Number (PRN): | 08062 |
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| Name: | Possible WW2 Military Installation on Earl's Hill |
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| Type of Record: | Monument |
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| Protected Status: | Scheduled Monument 1020152: Earl's Hill Camp |
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Monument Type(s):
Summary
Remains of a possible World War II searchlight battery or aircraft decoy located within the Iron Age hillfort on Earl's Hill. A possible alternative interpretation as a palisade slot pre-dating the hillfort has been suggested. Excavation in 2010-2011 suggested it may in fact be part of the firebreak for a beacon fire to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of George V in 1935.
| Parish: | Pontesbury, Shrewsbury and Atcham, Shropshire |
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| Map Sheet: | SJ40SW |
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| Grid Reference: | SJ 4094 0483 |
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Related records
| 01050 | Part of: Earls Hill Camp (Monument) |
Associated Finds: None recorded
Associated Events
- ESA6904 - 2011-12 DBA and walkover survey of hillforts in Shropshire by Shropshire Council and Herefordshire Council
Description
Near to the highest point within the northern enclosure of Earl's Hill Camp (PRN 01050) are the remains of a shallow rock-cut trench, averaging 0.7m wide, defining an oval area 21m by 24m. The exact function of this feature is unclear, but it appears to be modern and may well have been the base for a military installation used during World War II, such as a searchlight battery or aircraft decoy. Holes drilled into rock outcrops nearby may be associated with this feature. <1>
In 2010-11 two small 1m x 2m evaluation trenches were opened across a shallow gully-like feature on the summit of the hill (Guilbert and Wigley forthcoming). The schedule descriptions identifies this as a World War II feature, but the excavators wished to test whether this might instead represent the remains of a pre-hillfort palisade slot similar to those seen on some sites in Northumberland. In the event, no traces of an underlying rock cut slot were found and it appears instead that, at some point in the relatively recent past, a ring of turf had been stripped from the site. ->
-> In the second trench excavated in 2011 evidence was found in the section that at least some of this turf was deposited just outside the ‘ring’. Possible interpretations include a firebreak for the beacon fire of the Silver Jubilee of George V in 1935, since the feature appears to be present on a published photograph of the beacon. <2>
SJ 4094 0485. A small subcircular enclosure of unknown date, located within the inner ramparts of the hillfort at Earls Hill, is visible as an earthwork on aerial photographs and has been mapped by RCHME's Marches Uplands Mapping Project. The enclosure is defined by a single bank with a diameter of 20m. It could be a domestic feature, such as a hut circle, associated with the hillfort, or it could be associated with military activity on the site during the Second World War. <3><3a>
Sources
| [01] | SSA20693 - Scheduled Monument notification: English Heritage. 2001. Scheduling Papers (Revised Scheduling, 18/09/2001). 34903. |
| [02] | SSA24361 - Archaeological fieldwork report: Dorling P & Wigley A. 2012. Assessment of the archaeological and conservation status of major later prehistoric enclosures in Herefordshire and Shropshire. p.37. |
| [03a] | SSA16992 - Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1989-Jul-02. CPAT 89/MB/0859 to 0861 (3 photos). Black and White. Medium. CPAT 89-MB-861. |
| [03] | SSA31570 - COLLECTION: Historic England. 1993-1994. NRHE: RCHME: Marches Uplands NMP. MU.361.3. |
| Date Last Edited: | Jan 5 2022 4:30PM |
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