| Summary : A defended settlement of Iron Age date and a signal station of Roman date, situated in a prominent location on the northern edge of Barcombe Hill. The settlement is visible as a roughly oval enclosure, 95 metres north east to south west by 42 metres north west to south east, with an inner and outer bank and a ditch. The stone and earth inner bank is up to 2 metres wide and is best preserved on the south and eastern sides. The surrounding ditch is on average 6 metres wide and 1 metre deep. Outside of the ditch there is a second bank on average 3 metres wide and standing to a maximum of 0.6 metres high where it is best preserved on the south side. The northern side of the enclosure has been disturbed by a series of quarry holes thought to be Roman in date and associated with the construction of Hadrian's Wall, but most likely exploited in the post-medieval period too. Within the north west corner of the enclosure there are the well preserved remains of a turf-built Roman signal station, visible as a roughly rectangular enclosure with rounded corners, 17 metres east to west by 13 metres north to south and standing to a maximum of 0.8 metres high. It is surrounded by a broad ditch on average 3 metres wide. Within the enclosure is a raised central platform, and the remains of at least one causeway giving access to the ditch is visible. The signal station was the subject of limited excavation in 1939 and again in the early 1950s; both excavations uncovered a limestone flagged base to the turf rampart measuring 4.2 metres wide which was cut into the rampart of the earlier defended settlement. The later excavation also recorded the discovery of a small oven with a stoke hole to the north east, a large amount of charcoal and Roman pottery of first century date. It is thought that the signal station pre-dated the construction of Hadrian's Wall and was only in use for a short time during the later first century AD. The site is visible on air photographs. |
More information : [NY 78256682] Roman Signal Station [GS] (Site of) Earthwork [O.E.] (1)
On Barcombe Hill is a pre-Roman univallate settlement, with a Roman signal station in the N.W. corner. (2)
Excavation of the latter yielded no dateable material. (3)
Scheduled. (4)
The work, correctly described, is in good condition, apart from the north side which has been severly mutilated by "coffin quarrying". Resurveyed at 1:2500. (5)
Barcombe Hill Roman "signal station" was alleged to have contained a timber-buit tower according to Sir W Aitchison who trial trenched the site, but no finds were apparently made. Further trenching by I Crawford in the early 1950s revealed a limestone flagged surface cut into the rampart of the enclosing Iron Age fort. A small stone oven, masses of charcoal and sherds of Flavian pottery were also found. Woodfield considered occupation of the "signal station" to be short and added that evidence for a Flavian signalling system was inadequate; a lookout post, more specifically connected with Chesterholm (NY 76 NE 16) being likely. Plans. (6)
Jobey referred to Sir W Aitchison's excavation notes etc of 1939 which substantiated the evidence of the flagged rampart foundation seen by Crawford (authority 6). No evidence of a timber tower was recorded; the only internal feature being a stretch of paving within the line of the presumed east entrance. Conflation of plans from both 1939 and early 1950s excavations indicated a rectangular turf-built enclosure with rounded corners and single ditch, approximating in size and form to Brownhart Law (NT 70 NE). (7)
NY 783668. Barcombe Hill. Listed as Iron Age univallate hill fort of less than 1 acre. (8)
NY 783 668. Barcombe. Listed in gazetteer as a univallate hillfort covering 0.40ha. (9)
NY 782 669. Camp at Barcombe N of Thorngrafton Common. Scheduled No ND/318. (10)
Scheduled (11)
The Iron Age hillfort and Roman signal station are visible as earthworks on air photographs and was mapped at a scale of 1:10,000 for Hadrian's Wall NMP project. Since the hillfort has two banks and a ditch it is technically multivallate rather than uninvallate as listed above. The northern ditch has been extensively quarried and the quarry pits extend to the west and east of the site, in total 450 metres in length. The date of this quarrying, although attributed as possibly Roman in date, most probably has been exploited in the post medieval period, as there is extensive post medieval quarrying in the general area. There are traces of post medieval ridge and furrow ploughing in the interior of the hillfort. (12)
Located on the English Heritage map of Hadrian's Wall 2010. (13)
|