| Summary : Earthwork remains of an Iron Age multivallate hillfort with possible Early Iron Age occupation. Battlesbury is situated at the south end of a chalk promontory which is a south extension of Salisbury Plain. It is defined by steep slopes tp the W, S and NE. Those to the E and NW are more gentle and the defensive circuit reflects this topography. The enclosure is bivallate, and 9.7ha in extent. It consists of an inner rampart and ditch and an outer rampart. The NW sector is further protected by two additional ramparts and ditches. To the S and E the base of the outer rampart is indistinguishable from the steep natural scarp. Strip lynchets have been created on the NE and SE slopes below the hillfort. A massive lynchet within the enclosure runs parallel to the inner rampart. In the S angle of the enclosure there are 3 round barrows (ST 84 NE 1) between the inner rampart and internal lynchet. There are two original entrances, the first to the NW is 6 to 8m wide, the second to the E is 5 to 6m wide. The interior of the site has been under cultivation for a considerable time. Present day land usage is confined to rough pasture, but the lynchet which runs immediately behind the inner rampart represents the accumulation of soil from a long period of cultivation. Consequently, no earthworks survive in the interior. However, aerial photographs suggest that there may have been a field system of unascertainable relationship to the hillfort within its interior. A Roman coin hoard consisting of 36 coins of Antoninus Pius (AD 138-61), Julia and Constantine (AD 306-337), was found in 1773. Possibly an early 4th century hoard. |
More information : [ST 898 456] Battlesbury Camp [TI] HillFort [GT] (1)
This is an IA, AB, multivallate hillfort, of 24 acres, with entrances at the east and north-west. Finds from the camp include Roman coins: from the quarry at the N.W. angle an urn with 36 coins of Antoninus Pius, Julia and Constantine, was found in 1773. Mrs. Cunnington excavated nine storage-pits in 1922, finding IA 'B' metal objects and other finds and a pit outside the NW entrance is said to have contained a war or massacre cemetery of pre-Belgic IA date. The Cunnington MSS refer to three iron seaxes and skeletons of A/S date as having been found. An 11th c. sword was found in 1899. (2-3)
Re-surveyed at 1/2500 as divorced survey and survey rectified print. The entrances, at E. and N.W. ends of the camp, have been mutilated by agricultural operations but appear to have been more complex than at present. The interior is under pasture with no traces of storage pits or hut sites. (4)
No change to survey of 19.5.66. (5)
Battlesbury was surveyed by RCHME staff in 1989/90. The following is a summary of the detailed archive report:
Battlesbury is situated at the S end of a chalk promontory which is a S extension of Salisbury Plain. It is defined by steep slopes tp the W, S and NE. Those to the E and NW are more gentle and the defensive circuit reflects this topography. The enclosure is bivallate, and 9.7ha in extent. It consists of an inner rampart and ditch and an outer rampart. The NW sector is further protected by two additional ramparts and ditches. To the S and E the base of the outer rampart is indistinguishable from the steep natural scarp. Strip lynchets have been created on the NE and SE slopes below the hillfort. A massive lynchet within the enclosure runs parallel to the inner rampart. In the S angle of the enclosure there are 3 round barrows (ST 84 NE 1) between the inner rampart and internal lynchet. There are two original entrances, the first to the NW is 6 to 8m wide, the second to the E is 5 to 6m wide. The interior of the site has been under cultivation for a considerable time. Present day land usage is confined to rough pasture, but the lynchet which runs immediately behind the inner rampart represents the accumulation of soil from a long period of cultivation. Consequently, no earthworks survive in the interior. However, APs suggest that there may have been a field system of unascertainable relationship to the hillfort within its interior. (6)
Battlesbury is a multivallate hillfort 9.7 ha in area (7). Limited excavations took place at `the highest point' within the interior in 1922. Features recorded were pits, some intersecting each other, which were found to contain Early Iron Age pottery, animal remains, quernstones and metalwork (8-9). Rescue work carried out in by the Ministry of Works in 1957 also recovered Iron Age pottery; Salisbury Museum Acc. No. 3/57/277 (10). Although Roman finds, mainly coins, have been found in the ploughsoil within the hillfort interior (11), no Roman features have been recorded during the excavations. Account of the 1922 excavation by Mrs Cunnington. Excavated pits contained Iron Age pottery, metalwork and animal bones. (8)
Note on iron hoops (interpreted as parts of a chariot wheel) found during 1922 excavation. (9)
Additional reference (not consulted). (10)
Field observation as part of RCHME SPTA project (see archive report). (11) |