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Summary

The mound may have been the site of a fire beacon. Excavations in the 1970s proved it to be the last remaining traces of the entrance through the inner rampart.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1003845: Embury Beacon camp

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS21NW/501/1
• Old SAM County Ref: 169
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SS21NW14

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• BEACON (Iron Age - 700 BC to 42 AD (Between))

Full description

Ministry of Works, Embury Beacon Camp (Schedule Document). SDV341221.

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

'Embury Beacon' marked on 1880s-1890s 25 inch Ordnance Survey map.

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

Embury Beacon marked.

Russell, P., 1955, Fire Beacons in Devon, 277 (Article in Serial). SDV336138.

Victoria County History has plan of hillfort. Mound, 3 feet high, just outside central vallum may be beacon site. 515 feet above sea level. Situated a mile west of Firebeacon.

Grinsell, L. V., 1970, The Barrows of North Devon, 121 (Article in Serial). SDV7849.

Site visit 5th April 1969. Between inner and outer rampart of fort. Uncertain whether a round barrow or connected with the fort. 13 paces in diameter, 2 feet high.

Jeffries, J. S., 1974, An Excavation at the Coastal Promontory Fort of Embury Beacon, Devon, 138 (Article in Serial). SDV7939.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1977 - 2004, SS21NW14 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV7843.

1. The mound is suggested to be the site of a fire beacon.
2. Mound between the inner and outer ramparts of the promontory fort. Uncertain whether a round barrow or connected with the fort.
3. Slight rise in the ground to the north east of where the inner rampart meets the cliff edge. Excavation proved this to be the last remaining traces of the entrance.
4. Site visit 21st October 1977. Rise in ground, 14.0 metres diameter by 0.6 metres high. Remains of the entrance of the inner rampart. Cut off by the cliff face.

Devon Committee for Rescue Archaeology, 1979 - 1981, North Devon Barrow Survey, DCRA ND42 (Archive - Survey). SDV341310.

Hamilton, D., 1991, Worksheet (Worksheet). SDV7851.

Bayer, O. J., 1996, Barrows in the Torridge District of North West Devon: A Study in Distribution and Location, Hartland 13A (Undergraduate Dissertation). SDV319515.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1997, Embury Beacon, Hartland, 8 (Report - Survey). SDV325680.

May have been an Iron Age defensive site used or reused for early warning and communication with extensive views across the Bristol Channel.

Whitbourn, A. + Whitbourn, T., 2004, Untitled Source (Correspondence). SDV7963.

Recent erosion shown on photos of 'Embury Beacon' taken in 2003. Other details: Letter & photos.

Collings, A. G. + Manning, P. T. + Valentin, J., 2007, The North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Phase 1. Archaeological Survey. Summary Report, No. 259 (Report - Assessment). SDV339712.

Embury beacon.152.52m above sea level. Mound just outside the central vallum of the hillfort may be the beacon site. Elizabethan.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4415 - Devon Barrow Survey

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