| Summary : A large Iron Age multivallate hillfort located on a promontory of Colerne Down. The enclosed area is sub-triangular with a slightly rounded hilltop of 9.2ha surrounded by a ditch 4 metres wide amd up to 1 metre deep, and an outer bank up to 1.5 metres high on the east and north western sides and up to 2 metres high on the south western side, across the neck of the promontory. On the south western side, where there are no natural defences, there is a further ditch 4 metres wide and 1 metre deep and an outer bank up to 2 metres high and 3 metres wide. At the north eastern corner the inner bank turns inwards to form a funnel shaped entrance. Another entrance about a quarter of the way along the north western side also consists of inward turning ramparts forming a funnel shaped entrance. A small enclosure within the camp is visible on aerial photographs. Flint artefacts including scrapers, cores and flakes have been found within the camp as well as fragments of querns and a sarsen artefact. Scheduled. |
More information : (Centred ST 818740) Bury Camp (GT).
(ST 81817407) Tumulus (GT) (Site of). (1)
Bury Wood Camp, sometimes known as Bury Ditch(es), is an IA
promontory hill-fort, sub-triangular in plan; it is bivallate
on the S.W. where there are no natural defences. There are
probable inturned entrances on the N.W. and E.; the entrance on
the S.W. is modern. A supposed 'barrow' inside the hill-fort is
a small enclosure, visible on A.P. (See AO/66/308/8) and formed
by a slight bank with an outer ditch surviving on the north
side. A further enclosure is visible only on the photograph.
Flint scrapers, cores and flakes have been found (1909-36)
within the camp and fragments of querns and a sarsen artifact
as well by A.Shaw Mellor and others. There were deposited in
Devizes Museum. Mellor (3) and King (6) give summaries of
early literary references with detailed descriptions of the
hill-fort. See plan: AO/66/308/7.
The site was excavated by D.Grant King, 1959-60, and it was
established that the hill-fort occupation was very late IA 'A'
but soon showing predominant IA 'AB' characteristics, possibly
of an IA village within the hill-fort. The ramparts were of
rubble and soil with a dry stone wall revetment. (2-6)
The fort is generally as described. The ditch within the
northern rampart and the traces of a ditch within the eastern
one appear to be the result of quarrying to build the rampart,
and the ditch outside the western rampart seems largely
incomplete and was possibly never finished.
D.Grant-King has excavated the enclosure formerly described
as 'Tumulus (site of)' and shown it to be IA (b). Storage
pits have been found at ST 817740. (a).
The soil mark enclosure at approx. ST 819741 is thought to be
Md. (b).
Surveyed at 1:2500. (7)
ST 81817407 The cropmark of a circular bank and outer ditch
of 72.0m overall diameter are visible on OS APs (c). (8)
ST 818 740. Bury Wood. Listed in gazetteer as a multivallate hillfort covering 9.2ha. (9)
ST 818 739. Bury Wood Camp. Account of excavation of SW opening by D Grant King 1965-6. (10)
ST 818 740. Bury Wood Camp. Account of excavation in the NE and NW areas of the camp by D Grant King . (11)
Bury Wood. Published plan. (12) |