More information : [SU 3142 8635] Ram's Hill, which lies on the
Uffington-Kingston Lisle parish boundary is crowned by
earthworks of three periods, which were excavated in 1938/9 by
Stuart Piggott. The Structures examined were 'A' a ditched,
oval, enclosure [see plan AO/LP/63/138] measuring 400 by 270
feet, with an entrance causeway at the southern corner where a
double post-hole was found. The enclosure proved to be of
Middle Bronze Age date with occupation continuing into the Late
Bronze Age, and was possibly used for grain growing and stock
breeding. This feature is without parallel.
'B' The main earthwork, which is a univallate hill-fort of Iron
Age A culture, about 400 B.C., apparently unfinished and much
reduced by ploughing.
'C' Three sides of a quadrilateral ditch, abutting on the east
side of the hill-fort, enclosing a settlement, probably a
timber built house, in early Roman times. A quantity of Belgic
pottery, evidently dating to the first half of the first
century A.D. was found in the ditches, possibly indicating a
native Belgic site "Romanized" at the conquest.
The position, high up on the chalk ridge, supports Belgic
origin.
Three Roman burials were found in the ditch, one with a number
of silver coins dating the burial to AD 400-410 (2) (1-3)
The hill-fort is under the plough. It survives only as a scarp
except on the south where it has been completely destroyed.
Surveyed at 1/2500.
No trace of the M.B.A. enclosure or the Belgic ditch can been
seen.
See AO/LP/63/139 for plan of geographical relationship to other
earchworks and AO/LP/63/140 for Allens A.P's.
Newbury Museum has the following pottery sherds from Ram's
Hill:- Bronze Age: O.A. 270,S.138,139,1938,256,
Iron Age. O.A.295 Romano-British: S.16A. (4)
In 1972 excavation was, carried out in the inner enclosure, an oval earthwork of about 9000 square metres with three entrances, to the north west, north east and the south.
The earliest structural phase seems to have been a substantial palisaded enclosure with posts bedded in a continuous trench a metre wide and up to 1.5 metres deep. This was followed by the earliest ditched enclosure, and there was probably a substantial internal rampart with a facing of sarsens and perhaps a core of large chalk blocks.
The skeleton of a dog was associated with the first phase and the penultimate stage incorporated the burials of a sheep or goat and a piglet.
The main structural units of the inner enclosure are much earlier than the Iron Age hill-fort. (5)
In 1973 an excavation investigated the focal area of the successive southern entrances in the only part of the site to retain much topsoil cover. The initial earthwork was a flat bottomed ditch with vertical sides and an internal rampart, possibly stone faced, it enclosed c. 1ha and had been recut once. Dating evidence for the first phase is limited to an early Bronze Age collared urn in 1973.
The ditch was superceded by a succession of palisades, of which the last phase was a double row, and the later Bronze Age pottery was found associated with these features.
Pottery analysis indicates a possible continuous occupation sequence from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. (6)
The results of two seasons of excavation at Rams Hill in 1972-73 are presented and discussed, together with a field survey of the surrounding area in 1974. (7)
Two residual beaker sherds from Rams Hill are described. These are in Reading Museum. One came from an Iron Age lynchet and the other from a Roman pit. (8)
An aerial photograph shows Rams Hill from the south east, taken 20.2.1934. (9)
After clearance the hilltop reverted to scrub or woodland several times in the Bronze Age. At perhaps 900-800 BC the site was cleared finally and it was ploughed in about 50 BC. (10)
There was little trace of Roman activity until the C4, when a square enclosure was butted onto the fort rampart. This possibly served as a rural shrine. (11)
SU 314 863. Rams Hill. Listed in gazetteer as a univallate hillfort covering 4.3ha. (12)
Rams Hill. Account of excavations undertaken by Bradley and Ellison in 1972-3. These concentrated on the ditched enclosure within the hillfort. The initial earthwork took the form of a flat bottomed ditch with vertical sides and an internal rampart, possibly faced by sarsens. It enclosed c1ha and had been once recut. Dating evidence for this phase was provided by a shoulder sherd from a Wessex biconical urn. The enclosure was subsequently palisaded. The first phase of palisading was dated from charcoal deposits to 1030 +/- 70bc; 1050 +/- 70bc and 740 +/- 70bc. This was replaced by a more substantial structure associated with later Bronze Age sherds and a C14 date of 1060 +/- 70bc. A third and final phase of enclosure consisted of 2 parallel palisades. Charcoal samples from these yielded C14 dates of 1070 +/- 70bc and 1010 +/- 70bc. Later Bronze Age pottery was found in association with a gateway connected with this final phase. Enviromental evidence suggested the structure having initially served as a pastoral enclosure whilst internal finds were interpreted as implying non-permanent occupation. (13-14)
The Bronze Age sequence at Rams Hill has been refined following a programme of further C14-dating of material recovered during the 1972-3 excavation of the inner ditched enclosure. In addition, some of the internal structures revealed during those excavations were re-evaluated. (15)
A number of features interpreted as being tree-throw holes in the excavation report have been shown to probably represent stake holes, and thus constitute evidence for further structures. (16)
The enclosures on Rams Hill have been mapped from aerial photographs as part of Lambourn Downs NMP. The Roman phase in particular has been mapped in more detail, and is described in a separate record (SU 38 NW 75; UID 1255769). (17-18) |