Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland

The Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland is an online database of hillforts―fortified settlements built in the Bronze Age and Iron Age―in the British Isles. It was compiled by researchers from the University of Edinburgh, the University of Oxford and University College Cork, led by Ian Ralston and Gary Lock.[1][2] As of 2017, the atlas has 4,147 entries, which the researchers believe to be all of the extant hillforts in Britain and Ireland.[1][3] A printed atlas is also planned.[4]

The data was collated from existing catalogues of archaeological sites such as the National Monuments Records and county historic environment records.[4] Around 100 volunteers, described as "citizen scientists", also visited sites and contributed information and photographs to the atlas.[5][6] The researchers noted that despite the conventional name "hillforts", under their definition, many are "not on hills and are not really forts".[7] They included sites that are now only visible through cropmarks.[4]

The online atlas is hosted by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, which funded the project,[8] and makes use of Esri's ArcGIS web map application platform.[9] The project also collaborated with Wikimedia UK to make the information in the atlas available to Wikipedia.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Online hillforts atlas maps all 4,147 in Britain and Ireland for the first time". University of Oxford. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  2. "Meet the Team". Hillforts Atlas Project. School of Archaeology, University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 26 June 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  3. "Experts map ancient hill forts of UK and Ireland". BBC News. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  4. "Hillforts in the UK reveal clues as to how our ancestors lived". The Independent. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  5. Burns, Judith (8 July 2013). "Volunteer army drafted to map every ancient hill fort". BBC News. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  6. "Volunteers sent to map hill forts in Britain and Ireland". Countryfile. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  7. Morris, Steven (21 June 2017). "Hill fort hotspots in UK and Ireland mapped for first time in online atlas". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  8. "An atlas of hillforts in Britain and Ireland". Gateway to Research. Research Councils UK. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  9. "Atlas of Hillforts". ArcGIS. Retrieved 13 July 2017.


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