Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Oldbury hillfort is located near the village of Ightham and dates to the late Iron Age period. The initial phase of construction was around 100BC and it appears to have been abandoned by 50BC. The hillfort was built into the steep eastern slope of the hill and additional earthwork defences were constructed to increase its strength. Little evidence of permanent occupation was found during excavations in 1938 and 1983–4.

Monument Types

• HILLFORT (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)

Full description

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[Centred at TQ 5820 5620] Oldbury Camp [NR] (1) Oldbury, an Iron Age Hillfort of the early 1st century A.D., partly remodelled as a result of the Roman invasion. Comprising a rampart and ditch which originally ran continuously around about two thirds of the summit, enclosing an area of about 123 acres. The remaining third was probably no more than a wooden stockade above the formidable cliffs along the E. side. Trial trenches of five selected sites revealed no traces of settlement within the fort, but continuous settlement in the area from Palaeolithic times onward is indicated by the mid-Palaeolithic rock shelters which have revealed traces of habitation on the eastern slopes. [See TQ 55 NE 26 and 32.] Finds included pottery, glass beads, slingstones, querns, a whetstone and coins. [Full excavation report follows.] (2-3) Oldbury Camp - Iron Age Hillfort, in good condition. As described above. The southern half of the site is wooded and is National Trust property. The northern half is privately owned and is under orchards.A 25" survey has been made. (4) 25" survey of 7.3.61 unchanged. (5) Further excavations were carried out at Oldbury in 1983-4. It was hoped to relate the excavations to those carried out in 1938 by Ward- Perkins; however, the defence sections of 1983 and 1984 yielded no clear evidence for two periods at Oldbury and the suggestion of Belgic refortification seems untenable, as had been previously suggested. The hillfort seems to have been rapidly constructed on a massive scale, never occupied in a permanent fashion, and abondoned by c. 50 B.C. What later activity there is can probably be related to occupation in the area by a Romanised native population, which regarded the site as a convenient quarry. Evidence was revealed for occupation in the southern half of the hillfort, albeit short-lived and conceivably related to a construction period. Three radio carbon dates were provided by the British Museum. Charcoal from a small hearth on the old ground surface beneath the main rampart in the 1983 defence section gave a terminus post quem of 2310 + or - 50bp (360 B.C.). Charcoal from a small hearth in the interior of the hillfort near the south end gave a reading of 1840 + or - 40bp (A.D. 110). Charcoal from trench 9 of 1983 and trench 3 of 1984 gave a reading of 1910 + or - 80bp (A.D. 40); if it is contemporary with the adjacent gully which yielded later Iron Age pottery the date is quite acceptable within the standard deviation. (6-10) Oldbury hillfort, brief description. (11-13) Oldbury "ancient stonghold of the Britons". (14)
Additonal bibliography (15-23).


From the National Heritage List for England:
"Details
The monument includes a large multivallate hillfort of Iron Age date situated on the summit of Oldbury Hill in an area of Greensand. Two rock shelters, occupied in the Palaeolithic period, are situated within an outcrop of sandstone on the eastern side of the hill. The hillfort, which is roughly diamond-shaped, measures 1,350m north-south by 700m east-west. It has an enclosed central area of c.49.3ha, surrounded by earthen ramparts. These include an inner bank, which is c.10m wide and survives to a height of up to 1m above the interior of the enclosure, and a surrounding ditch, up to 3.5m wide and situated 3m below the crest of the bank. Beyond this is a counterscarp bank which measures up to 8m wide and 1m high on the south west side of the hillfort where there is a second line of defences, including a ditch 4m below the crest of the counterscarp bank. This has become infilled over the years and now survives as a buried feature, c.3m wide, visible as a terrace in the slope of the hill. There are at least two original entrances to the hillfort, one in the south and one in the north east. The southern entrance has additional earthwork banks to protect it. To the north east, the steep natural cliff edge of the hill had no need of additional earthwork defences, although it is believed that a wooden palisade was erected above the cliff. Partially excavated in 1938, the hillfort was again investigated in 1983-4. The excavated evidence suggests that the site was rapidly constructed on a huge scale but was never occupied on a permanent basis. Short-lived settlement was discovered in the southern half of the hillfort, possibly relating to the construction period. The site was abandoned by c.50 BC, although there does appear to be some later reuse as a quarry, possibly by a native Romanised population. Along the eastern side of the hillfort are two rock shelters, the northern situated just below the crest of the slope facing east, and the southern set c.50m east of the hillfort defences. These were occupied during the Middle Palaeolithic period (c.100,000 BC - 30,000 BC). The southern shelter is now visible as a rock overhang c.10m long and 3.5m deep with a height of up to 1.3m. A platform extends 3m in front of the overhang. The other shelter, c.90m to the north west, is c.15m long. The area beneath the overhanging rock is up to 1m deep and has a small cave, 2m deep and 1m high set into the rear rock face. A platform c.4m wide extends in front of the overhang. The shelters were first examined in 1890 and more recently in 1965. A worked flint assemblage, which includes a number of bout coupe handaxes, a type of tool typical of the Middle Palaeolithic period, was discovered. The deposit in which they were found is believed to date from the Early Devensian, the most recent of the glacial periods in Britain, between 45,000 and 30,000 years ago. Excluded from the scheduling are all fences, gate and fence posts, benches and footpath and bridleway marker posts, but the ground beneath all these features is included.

Reasons for Designation
Large multivallate hillforts are defined as fortified enclosures of between 5ha and 85ha in area, located on hills and defined by two or more lines of concentric earthworks set at intervals of up to 15m. They date to the Iron Age period, most having been constructed and used between the sixth century BC and the mid-first century AD. They are generally regarded as centres of permanent occupation, defended in response to increasing warfare, a reflection of the power struggle between competing elites. Earthworks usually consist of a rampart and ditch, although some only have ramparts. Access to the interior is generally provided by two entrances although examples with one and more than two have been noted. These may comprise a single gap in the rampart, inturned or offset ramparts, oblique approaches, guardrooms or outworks. Internal features generally include evidence for intensive occupation, often in the form of oval or circular houses. These display variations in size and are often clustered, for example, along streets. Four- and six-post structures, interpreted as raised granaries, also occur widely while a few sites appear to contain evidence for temples. Other features associated with settlement include platforms, paved areas, pits, gullies, fencelines, hearths and ovens. Additional evidence, in the form of artefacts, suggests that industrial activity such as bronze- and iron-working as well as pottery manufacture occurred on many sites. Large multivallate hillforts are rare with around 50 examples recorded nationally. These occur mostly in two concentrations, in Wessex and the Welsh Marches, although scattered examples occur elsewhere. In view of the rarity of large multivallate hillforts and their importance in understanding the nature of social organisation within the Iron Age period, all examples with surviving archaeological potential are believed to be of national importance.

Despite cultivation of some of the interior, the large multivallate hillfort at Oldbury Hill survives well with the complete circuit of the defences and the interior remaining largely intact. Partial excavation has demonstrated that the site contains archaeological remains and environmental evidence relating to the construction of the monument, its use and abandonment as well as the landscape in which it was constructed. Also present on the site are Palaeolithic caves and rock shelters which provide some of the earliest evidence of human activity. They occur mainly in areas of hard limestone in the north and west of the country, although examples such as those at Oldbury Hill exist in the softer rocks of south east England. Evidence for human occupation is often located near the cave entrances, close to the rock walls or on the exterior platforms. The interiors sometimes served as special areas for disposal and storage or were places where material naturally accumulated, for example due to flooding. Despite partial excavation, the Palaeolithic rock shelters at Oldbury Hill survive well with the remaining deposits largely undisturbed. Rock shelters are rare both nationally and in Europe as a whole. All such sites with surviving archaeological remains are therefore of national importance."

An archaeological watching brief was conducted in 2019 during excavations associated with the installation of a series of waymarking and other posts at the Iron age promontory hillfort at Oldbury Hill.
‘A total of 18 postholes measuring up to 0.35m in diameter and 0.70m deep were hand-excavated across the site, to reveal a general sequence of between 0.10m and 0.25 of topsoil, overlying natural head deposits and the sandstone bedrock of the Folkstone Formation
The limited size of the monitored excavation precluded any definite identification of archaeological features, although potential archaeological deposits were identified in a total of five postholes. Four of these postholes were located along the eastern and western perimeter defences of the hillfort, where possible evidence for the rampart embankments were identified, along with the fills of possible quarry ditches or holloways. The remaining posthole was located within the hillfort interior, where the edge of a feature may represent either a genuine archaeological feature such as a pit or posthole, or more recent rooting associated with the dense woodland cover of the site.
No cultural material was forthcoming from any of these deposits or features and their interpretation as deposits of archaeological remains tentative at best.’ (25)

<01> OS 6" 1936 (OS Card Reference). SKE48337.

<02> Archaeologia 90 1944 127-176 Excavation Report Maps Plans Photos illustrations (J B Ward Perkins) (OS Card Reference). SKE37321.

<03> Arch Cant 51 1939 137-81 maps plans photos illus (J B Ward Perkins) (OS Card Reference). SKE35263.

<04> F1 ASP 07-MAR-61 (OS Card Reference). SKE41986.

<05> F2 ASP 05-AUG-64 (OS Card Reference). SKE43084.

<06> KAR 76 1984 140-4 (F H Thompson) (OS Card Reference). SKE45426.

<07> KAR 80 1985 239-41 (F H Thompson) (OS Card Reference). SKE45437.

<08> Kent AS Newsletter 5 1984 1 8 photos (F H Thompson) (OS Card Reference). SKE45907.

<09> Arch Cant 99 1983 287-9 (F H Thompson) (OS Card Reference). SKE36351.

<10> Arch Cant 101 1984 381-2 (F H Thompson) (OS Card Reference). SKE34597.

<11> BAR Supp Series II Oppida The Beginnings of Urbanisation in Barbarian Europe 1976 332 (B Cunliffe an (OS Card Reference). SKE37598.

<12> SE England 1970 152 (R F Jessup) (OS Card Reference). SKE49426.

<13> BAR 52 Late La Tene Sites 1975 226 (J Collis) (OS Card Reference). SKE37536.

<14> Arch Cant 9 1874 liii (OS Card Reference). SKE36007.

<15> Arch Cant 45 1933 142-161 (E Harrison) (OS Card Reference). SKE35148.

<16> Properties of the National Triust 1978 102 (OS Card Reference). SKE48743.

<17> PPS 20 1 1954 23 6 (C A Ralegh Radford) (OS Card Reference). SKE48579.

<18> PPS 4 1938 320 (OS Card Reference). SKE48599.

<19> VCH Kent 1 1904 395-6 illus (OS Card Reference). SKE50823.

<20> BAR 90 2 1981 Burial Practices in Iron Age Britain 382 (R Whimster) (OS Card Reference). SKE37578.

<21> Field report for monument TQ 55 NE 21 - March, 1961 (Bibliographic reference). SKE2763.

<22> Field report for monument TQ 55 NE 21 - August, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE2764.

<23> Evaluation Excavation Report 1992 (CEU, English Heritage) (OS Card Reference). SKE41668.

<24> Alistair Oswald, 2016, A rapid analytical field survey of Oldbury Iron Age Promontory Fort, near Ightham, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE52602.

<25> HB Archaeology and Conservation Ltd, 2019, An archaeological watching brief at Oldbury Hill, Styants Bottom Road, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN15 0ET (Unpublished document). SKE53537.

Sources and further reading

Related thematic articles

• Iron Age Kent (Thematic Essay)
• Palaeolithic Kent (Thematic Essay)
• The Defence of Kent (Thematic Essay)
• The history of Kent's archaeology (Thematic Essay)