More information : (SD 8887 3370). Twist Castle Camp (NR). Roman coin found AD 1889 (NR). (1)
The fort at Twist Hill is about 154 ft square; the ditch is completely filled up but the lower parts of the walls are at least 15 ins high. Two gateways are opposite to each other, but no road is traceable to them; at the southeast angle is the foundation of a building 60 ft square. No inscribed stones were seen but many were dressed in a manner unmistakeably Roman and others had the appearance of tombstones. A great number of these dressed stones are to be seen in the surrounding field walls. A bronze coin of Marcus Aurelius was found here in 1888, but excavations in the reputed Roman camp, undertaken with the advice of Prof Atkinson and I A Richmond, have shown that the site is not Roman. (2-4)
Surveyed at 1:2500. (5)
'Roman Camp' 150 ft square with smaller enclosure 60ft square at its south-west corner. External ditch. (6)
Scheduled as a Romano-British farmstead. (7)
Twist Castle was visited by English Heritage field investigators in May 1999 as part of the National SAMs Survey Pilot Project. Surface examination confirmed that the monument is largely as depicted on the existing 1:2500 survey (see authority 5) and no detailed survey was therefore undertaken.
The sub-rectangular enclosure is defined by a bank, without a ditch. There is a single entrance in the centre of the eastern side. Adjoining the exterior of the enclosure, on the southern side of the entrance, are the ruinous remains of a rectangular stone structure; this appears to be a later addition and is probably nothing more than a sheep pen. The banks of the enclosure, although slight, are very well-defined and regular. This is more remarkable given the extensive land improvement which has taken place on the plateau on which the enclosure lies. Although previously interpreted as a Romano-British farmstead the surviving earthworks make this identification of Twist Castle far from certain. One clue to its original or later use may be a small stone cairn which lies in the centre of the enclosure and is reminiscent of the cairns placed around commemorative or decorative trees in the landscape in order to protect them from livestock. (8) |