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DOLEBURY CAMP

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The remains of an Iron Age partly bivallate hillfort; finds recovered from the interior include Bronze Age pottery and a spearhead, and a Roman coin. Other features include pillow mounds, cultivation remains and quarries, which are now recorded separately.

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[Centred ST 4500 5895] Dolebury Camp [T.I.] HILL FORT
[G.T.]. (1)

Hill Fort, essentially univallate with a slight counterscarp, and
original entrance at the west end. There is a 'covered way' to
this; the eastern side of the hill fort is protected by an
outwork [thought by Tratman to be a miners rake; but he does
apply the term 'outwork' to a bank centred at ST 45565903: 'Huts',
ST 45575899, O.S. 6" 1931 have been disproved.]

The various straight linear banks and ditches within are modern,
as is the circular site within the northeastern corner.

Finds: Collinson, 1791, refers to 'Roman & Saxon coins, frequently
found'. Roman coins have also been recorded by Rutter, 1829;
Knight, 1915 'records a third brass found 1904', & Dobson, 1931,
notes Roman pottery, from the small camp [Sic.] in the S.W.
corner.

Saxon finds are unsupported apart from Collinson and the Rev.
Scarth, 1885, who commented that Saxon coins had been found but
offered no evidence.

Knight mentions an Early Gallo-Belgic gold coin (Morini, Mack 27)
(8), in the Somer. Arch. Soc. Mus. 'found at Churchill', but
thinks it was found 'at Dolbury' about 1813. A bronze spearhead
was found in the ditch at the eastern end of the camp, and poss.
B.A. pottery, including part of possible beaker, apparently
from the camp, is in the Museum of Somerset A.S. (2-10)

Dolebury hillfort has a simple entrance in the W. side, with a
natural gully affording a 'covered-way' approach. On the E.
or plateau side the two outworks referred to have neither the
substance nor the situation to be part of the defences and both
are almost certainly the result of mining.

The interior of the hillfort is crossed by a series of long
pillow mounds (probably associated with the name "Dolebury
Warren"). These may be post medieval but there is no evidence
for their date.

The enclosure in the S.W. corner, shown on the 25" 1930 and
called a 'camp' by Dobson cannot be identified with any certainty.

Surveyed at 1/2500. (11)

Dolebury is a promontory work of about 20 acres dominating the
Churchill Gap leading into the heart of Mendip.

The defences on the north, east and west are a double bank
and ditch, with the inner bank, possibly a stone wall, being
the more massive. The natural slope on the south side is
protected only by single low bank and ditch.

The only level approach is at the east end where the inner
bank is still 20ft above the ditch. Fowler considers the
entrance here not original but Forde-Johnson describes it as a
compact series of single gaps through an arrangement of two
banks and ditches producing a passage about 34m long.

Further east a miners' rake crosses the hill and is often
mistaken for an outwork (12), but Forde-Johnston describes it as a
cross-bank. To the NE of this bank Fowler notes a possibly
unfinished length of bank and ditch overlooking the only piece
of dead ground (A length of bank is visible on AP OS/66/146/003,
10.7.66 running from ST 45525914 to ST 45575893).

The only certain entrance (12) is at the west end, protected by
complicated defences of which no good survey has yet been
published. This entrance is described (13) as passing through
a two-ditch multivallate system with the ends of the inner
rampart turning slightly inwards for about 3.6m. (12-13)

A fragment of rotary quern found on the surface of the hillfort
is in Weston-super-Mare Museum. (14)

ST 45145896. Three Roman bronze coins, of Gallienus (AD 253-68),
Constantius II or Gallus (AD 352-4), and Gratian (AD 367-75),
were found by Brian Cays in July 1983 inside Dolebury Camp. (15)

Within Dolebury is a small area of pock-marked ground, called
gruffy ground, the result of small scale mining. (16)

Additional references (17-18)

A survey of Dolebury Hillfort and Warren was carried out in Apr & May
1985 by C & N Hollinrake on behalf of the National Trust. An
extensive pre-medieval field system was planned and new features
associated with the hillfort defences recorded. Features connected
with the medieval or post-medieval rabbit warren inside the hillfort
have also been recorded. (see illus card for plans) (19)

Additional references (20-21)

Dolbury [sic] Camp. Description with plan. (22)

The multivallate hillfort referred to by the above authorities (11-13) is visible as earthworks on aerial photographs and is as described. The hillfort has been mapped as part of the Mendip AONB NMP project.

The hillfort is defined by a double bank and ditch which is visible on the west, north and east sides; the south side is defended by a bank and slight outer ditch only. The main inner bank is built of stone. The main and probably only entrance is visible on the west side with two possibly later gaps or breaches visible on the east side (ST 4527 5898 and ST 4524 5885) and two more modern breaches on the north side (ST 4489 5907 and ST 4504 59008). The main entrance is approached from the west up a fairly steep incline and is also overlooked from the north and south between ST 4464 5894 and ST 4473 5894 by further steep slopes. On the northern slope are further earthworks which may be part of the complex defences described by authority 12-13.

The 'enclosure' in the SW corner referred to by (11) is more likely to be the result of quarrying to create the main inner bank. The rectilinear 'enclosure' is defined by a dip slope on the north, east and south side and measures 35m by 43m. Similar scoops or quarrying appear in the SE corner and have also been recorded. More large scale quarrying is visible in the NE corner which probably provided much of the stone for the main rampart.

The interior of the hillfort shows evidence of a pre-medieval field system which has been recorded separately as ST45NE 106/HOB UID 1494886; the pillow mounds, vermin traps and warren lodge/house associated with the medieval and/or post medieval rabbit warren have also been recorded separately as ST45NE 105/HOB UID 1494857, as has the later post medieval mining recorded as ST45NE 107/HOB UID 1494887, which can be seen across much of Dolebury Hill. (23-26)

The hillfort was surveyed at 1:1000 in Jan-Feb 2008 as part of the Mendip Hills AONB Project; for details see RDRS 59/2009. (27)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1961.

( 2) General reference

Archaeology of Wessex, 1958, p.165 (L. V. Grinsell).

( 3) General reference

History of Somerset 3 1791, p. 579. (Collinson).

( 4) General reference

Delin. of North-West Somerset 1829 p. 114 (Rutter)

( 5) General reference

Heart of Mendip, 1915, pp. 199-208 (F.A Knight).

( 6) Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society, Bath

31, 1885 Page(s)17

( 7) General reference

Archaeology of Somerset, 1931 pp. 196-7, 238 87 (D.P. Dobson)

( 8) General reference

Study of Dobunnic Coinage (D.F. Allen) in Bagendon .... etc. 1961, p. 133. (E.M. Clifford)

( 9) Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society, Bath

94, 1950 Page(s)51

(10) Aerial photograph

CUC C.G.88

(11) Field Investigators Comments

F1 NVQ 15-JUL-66

(12) Royal Archaeological Institute The Archaeological Journal

P J Fowler 134, 1977 Page(s)361

(13) General reference

Hillforts of the Iron Age 1976 207-8 222 225 plan (J Forde-Johnston)

(14) General reference

CBA Gps 12 /13 Arch Rev 5 1970 18 (H Bennett)

(15) General reference

Letter & plan (R G F Williams, BAARG 4.11.83)

(16a) Aerial photograph

AP Ministry of Defence

(16) General reference

Avon's Past from the Air 1984 8 (Avon CC Planning Dept)

(17) General reference

Ancient Earthworks and Camps of Somerset 1924 82-3 illus (E Burrow)

(18) University of Bristol Spelaeological Society proceedings

R Williams 18, (1) 1987 Page(s)61

(19) Bristol & Avon Archaeological Society Bristol & Avon archaeology

C & N Hollinrake 5, 1986 Page(s)5-11

(20) Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society, Bath

C Dymond 29, 1883 Page(s)104-110

(21) BAR British series

91 1981 Hillfort Settlement in Somerset 208-9 (I Burrow)

(22) edited by William Page 1911 The Victoria history Somerset, volume two

The Victoria history of the counties of England Page(s)487-90

(23) Oblique aerial photograph reference number

NMR ST4559/1 NMR SF1462/103 07-MAR-1979

(24) Oblique aerial photograph reference number

NMR ST4558/2-3 CCC 17756/6128-6130 DATE UNKNOWN

(25) Vertical aerial photograph reference number

NMR RAF/3G/TUD/UK15/21 5285-5287 13-JAN-1946

(26) Vertical aerial photograph reference number

OS/89071 305-306 08-APR-1989

(27) Field Investigators Comments

Mark Bowden, AS&I, 8 July 2009, Mendip Hills AONB Project

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