Oldbury Camp
Oldbury Camp (also known as Oldbury hill fort) is the largest
Description
Oldbury Camp is located near the village of Ightham, Kent. It is situated on the summit of Oldbury Hill, a partly wooded plateau on a north–south alignment on the
At least two entrances were constructed, on the north-east and southern ends of the hill fort.
History
The hill fort was constructed during the first century BC, likely in a rapidly executed project carried out on a massive scale.
The defences were subsequently strengthened by adding further material to the bank to create a glacis. The ditch was widened to give it a wide, flat bottom of the Fécamp type, named after a Gaulish oppidum near the eponymous town in Normandy. A stone revetment was constructed at the north-east entrance, probably with a wooden breastwork, above and beside a heavy wooden gate protected by a defensive outwork. The gate was destroyed by burning and a large quantity of sling stones was found nearby. Another gate was constructed at the south entrance but has been badly damaged by the construction of a modern road. It is not clear whether buildings existed in the hill fort's interior, although large quantities of pottery have been discovered there.[3] Oldbury Camp was probably used only as a temporary shelter or a place of refuge, rather than as the site of a permanent settlement.[5]
The reasons for the construction and eventual abandonment of Oldbury Camp are unclear, but it may have been built by a local tribe seeking to resist the invasion at the time of the
Excavations
Oldbury Camp has been excavated archaeologically twice: once in 1938 by John Bryan Ward-Perkins and again in 1983–84. While the 1938 excavations suggested that the hill fort had been built in two phases about half a century apart, this theory was abandoned as a result of the 1983–84 excavations determining that it was instead constructed as a single rapidly executed project. It had previously been thought that modifications to the defences were the result of the Belgae refortifying it against the Roman invasion but this now seems unlikely.[4]
Access
The southern part of Oldbury Hill and Styants Wood immediately to the west is now in the ownership of the National Trust, which acquired it in 1945, and is open to the public. It is managed by Kent County Council.[4] The northern part is privately owned farmland, but is covenanted to protect it.[6]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-284101-8.
- ^ a b c Historic England. "Large multivallate hillfort and Palaeolithic rock shelters at Oldbury Hill (1007458)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
- ^ a b c Dyer, James (1981). The Penguin guide to prehistoric England and Wales. Penguin. p. 183.
- ^ a b c d Historic England. "Oldbury Camp (409479)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 28 April 2011.
- ^ a b "Oldbury Hill, Kent – an Iron Age Hillfort". National Trust. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-8155-5016-7.
External links
- Oldbury Hill – National Trust
51°17′N 0°16′E / 51.28°N 0.26°E