Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Earthwork remains of an early Iron Age univallate hillfort.

Monument Types

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

Full description

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[TQ 44285222] CAMP [NR] (1) Excavated 1961 by Mrs Piercy Fox and dated to the second B phase of the IA. Mrs. Cotton suggests there may have been two phases to this work. (2) (3) Squerries Park Camp is a large univallate Hill Fort of E.IA, type occupying a steep-sided promontory which slops gently from S-N. The defences mainly consist of a scarping of the steep natural slopes with a ditch and slighty outer bank, (see section C-D), but along the western side of the earthwork this outer bank has been destroyed and the ditch takes the form of a terrace way. A rampart exists on the S only where the earth work crosses the ridge (see section A-B), and at the two probable entrances. There is now no trace of a rampart elsewhere but a certain amount of stone rubble in the ditch perhaps indicates the former existence of a stone breastwork. Of the four gaps in the defences probably only two are original, at the SW corner at TQ 44165211, and at the NE corner at TQ 44345247; both show evidence of inturning. There is an apparent strengthening of the defences in the region of the SW entrance but this area is heavily overgrown with rhododendrons and mutilated by the dumping of brush in the ditch. Two lynchet-like banks across the interior of the work may represent earlier phases but are more probably the remains of later (? plantation) enclosures. Published survey (OS 25") revised. (4) Excavation in 1961 revealed a bi-vallate system of defence. This was created by throwing spoil upwards from the ditch on the flat isthmus; and, around the headland, a steep scarped slope with ditch and outer bank constructed by throwing spoil downwards from the scarp slope and the ditch. Very few finds were uncovered. (5) 1971 excavations - Two major sections through the ramparts of the IA hill fort at Westerham were recorded during the 1971 salvage excavations in an area damaged by bulldozers. Two major sections through the ramparts were recorded. The original height of the ramparts may have been greater than 6-10 ft and it seems likely that it had a stone-revetement. The ditch fronting the rampart was 10 ft deep and nearly 30 ft wide and there were clear traces of a counter- scarp bank. Quarry ditches were found at the tail of the rampart. Pits under and behind the rampart produced domestic rubbish. This included important groups of pottery and a paste bead. A full report is pending. A deep trench left by the 1901 excavations was backfilled. (6)

A large oval shaped earthwork enclosing an area of about 11 acres. The earthwork consists of a double bank and ditch, the outer bank has been partly obliterated at N end of enclosure. Here was situated the original entrance.
Site occupies thickly wooded hilltop above Westerham. (8)

List entry Description
Summary of Monument
Large univallate Iron Age hillfort, 400m north-west of Crockham House.

Reasons for Designation
Large univallate hillforts are defined as fortified enclosures of varying shape, ranging in size between 1ha and 10ha, located on hilltops and surrounded by a single boundary comprising earthworks of massive proportions. They date to the Iron Age period, most having been constructed and used between the fourth century BC and the first century AD, although evidence for earlier use is present at most sites. The size of the earthworks reflects the ability of certain social groups to mobilise the labour necessary for works on such a monumental scale, and their function may have had as much to do with display as defence. Large univallate hillforts are also seen as centres of redistribution, both for subsistence products and items produced by craftsmen. The ramparts are of massive proportions except in locations where steepness of slope precludes easy access. They can vary between 6m and 20m wide and may survive to a height of 6m. The ditches can measure between 6m and 13m wide and between 3m and 5m deep. Access to the interior is generally provided by one or two entrances which often take the form of long passages formed by inturned ramparts and originally closed by a gate located towards the inner end of the passageway. The entrance may be flanked by guardrooms and/or accompanied by outworks. Internal features included timber or stone round houses; large storage pits and hearths; scattered postholes, stakeholes and gullies; and square or rectangular buildings supported by four to six posts, often represented by postholes, and interpreted as raised granaries. Large univallate hillforts are rare with between 50 and 100 examples recorded nationally. Most are located within southern England where they occur on the chalklands of Wessex, Sussex and Kent. The western edge of the distribution is marked by scattered examples in north Somerset and east Devon, while further examples occur in central and western England and outliers further north. Within this distribution considerable regional variation is apparent, both in their size, rampart structure and the presence or absence of individual components. In view of the rarity of large univallate hillforts and their importance in understanding the organisation and regional structure of Iron Age society, all examples with surviving archaeological remains are believed to be of national importance.

Despite some disturbance and damage to the earthworks in the past, the large univallate Iron Age hillfort 400m north-west of Crockham House survives well. Only a small part of the site has been excavated and it contains potential for further investigation into the hillfort and its construction. The interior of the hillfort in particular is likely to contain archaeological and environmental information relating to the occupation and use of the site and the landscape in which it was constructed.

History
See Details.

Details
This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 20 August 2014. The record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a large univallate Iron Age hillfort surviving as earthworks and below-ground remains. It is situated on a long spur of ground with marked slopes on the north, east and west sides, but which levels out onto higher ground to the south.

The hillfort is oval shaped earthwork with an inner bank, external ditch and outer counter-scarp bank, enclosing an area of about 11 acres. Partial excavation has recorded an in-filled quarry ditch, about 0.9m deep, behind the inner bank. This would have been used to provide material for the core of the bank. The earthworks are most prominent on the south side of the hillfort, where the ground levels out and it is not so well protected by the gradient of the surrounding land. The inner bank is up to about 1.1m high and is 6m wide at the base. The external ditch has been cut through solid rock in places. This ditch is V-shaped in profile and about 3m deep. The outer counter-scarp bank is about 0.6m high comprising upcast from the ditch. The defences have been part mutilated or cut in places and on the west side the inner bank has been levelled so that the ditch now forms a terrace way. The hillfort has two entrances; one on the west side and another on the south-east side. Within the interior of the hillfort are two further banks, running broadly east-west across. They may represent enclosures as part of agricultural operations or post Iron Age plough banks.

The hillfort was partially excavated in 1961 and 1970. Two sections cut through the defences recovered large sandstone blocks from the outer ditch, which are almost certainly the remains of a collapsed stone revetment forming part of the inner bank. A mass of blocks in the top of the bank were also thought to possibly represent a platform. An oval pit containing Iron Age domestic refuse and a small hearth were also recorded. The finds from the site included sherds of Iron Age pottery, likely to date to the second or early first centuries BC, a glass bead, and a fragment of a baked clay crucible. (9)

<1> OS 25" (OS Card Reference). SKE48250.

<2> Arch Cant 76 (1962) pp 67-69 (prelim excn report) (OS Card Reference). SKE35586.

<3> Problems of the IA in Southern Britain (1961),p.66 fn. (OS Card Reference). SKE48682.

<4> F1 CFW 18-FEB-63 (OS Card Reference). SKE42630.

<5> Arch Cant 85 1970 29-33 illus figs 1-3 (N Piercy Fox) (OS Card Reference). SKE35825.

<6> KAR 22 1970-71 47 (B Philp) (OS Card Reference). SKE45265.

<7> Field report for monument TQ 45 SW 30 - February, 1963 (Bibliographic reference). SKE2687.

<8> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

<9> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

Sources and further reading