Dungeon Hill

Dungeon Hill is an Iron Age hillfort, about 1 1⁄4 miles (2 kilometres) north of the village of Buckland Newton in Dorset, England.[1] It is a scheduled monument.[2]

For the hill in Scotland, see Dungeon Hill (hill).
Dungeon Hill
Shown within Dorset
LocationNear Buckland Newton, Dorset
grid reference ST 690 074
Coordinates50°51′55″N 2°26′30″W
TypeHillfort
Area9 acres (3.6 ha)
History
PeriodsIron Age
Roman
Designated26 October 1934
Reference no.1016895
Identifiers
Atlas of Hillforts3591

Description

The fort is on a low hill, height 600 feet (180 m); it has a single bank in a roughly oval shape, enclosing an area of about 9 acres (3.6 hectares). The rampart is 7 metres (23 feet) wide and about 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) above the interior. It has an external ditch of width 13 m (43 ft) and depth 2 m (6 ft 7 in). The height of the rampart above the base of the ditch is up to 6 m (20 ft). There are traces af an outer bank on the east side.[2][3][4]

There is an original causeway entrance of width about 3 m (10 ft) in the south; there are modern entrances in the north on both sides.[2][3][4]

On the east facing slope of the hill there are four lynchets, suggesting cultivation in the medieval period.[2][4]

Remains found

In the late 18th century Fitzwalter Foy, resident of nearby Duntish Court,[5] who was the owner of the fort, cleared the site of woodland, and he recovered human bones, sword blades, Roman coins and other finds. In 1881 there was some excavation of the site: Roman pottery, fragments of Roman querns and building stone were found; Roman tiles were found in the interior.[2][4]

See also

References
  1. Newman, John; Pevnser, Nikolaus (1972). Dorset. Yale University Press. p. 122. ISBN 9780300095982. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  2. Historic England. "Hillfort and later strip lynchets on Dungeon Hill, 500 m (1,600 ft) north of Castle Hill Cottages (1016895)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  3. "Minterne Magna", in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 1, West (London, 1952), pp. 167-170. British History Online. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  4. Historic England. "Dungeon Camp (198773)". PastScape. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  5. "Buckland Newton", in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 3, Central (London, 1970), pp. 48-54. British History Online. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
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