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Midsummer Hill

Herefordshire, England · Atlas EN0024

Midsummer Hill is a partial contour fort in Eastnor, Herefordshire, England.

Other names on the record: Midsummer Hill Camp.

It is recorded as extant, with a univallate rampart form, surface evidence of earthen bank, stone wall, and counterscarp bank, and an enclosed area of 7 hectares.

Banks or ramparts are the remains most likely to be visible.

The topographic record places it on a hilltop and a ridge, at 286 m, and facing northwest.

Recorded land use includes woodland and scrub or bracken.

Dating evidence is recorded for 400 BC–AD 50 (C14). Reliability is recorded as B - Medium.

A scheduled monument number is recorded (1003533).

Location

Atlas number
EN0024 (24)
Country
England
Current county or unitary authority
Herefordshire
Historic county
Herefordshire
Parish, community, or townland
Eastnor
Also recorded in
Worcestershire
National Grid reference
SO 761374
Latitude
52.03445
Longitude
-2.34983
Altitude
286 m

Form and condition

Type
partial contour fort
Condition
Extant
Morphology
univallate
Complete rampart circuit
Yes
Number of ramparts
1
Number of ditches
1
Possible original entrances
2
Breaks through the ramparts
2
Enclosed area
7 ha
Enclosing works, as visible
earthen bank, stone wall, and counterscarp bank
Enclosing works, excavated
earthen bank, stone wall, and counterscarp bank
Also recorded
guard chambers, multi-period enclosure system, and ditches
Entrance forms
In-turned (North); Oblique (North); In-turned (South); Passage-way/Corridor (South)

Landscape

Topographic position
hilltop and ridge
Aspect
northwest
Land use
woodland and scrub or bracken
Water source
spring

Dating

Dating
400 BC–AD 50
Dating evidence
C14
Dating reliability
B - Medium

Interior and investigation

Interior surface
curvilinear platforms and quarry hollows
Interior excavation
rectangular structures
Finds
pottery, metal, metalworking, and animal bones
Investigations
Excavation (1879); 1st Identified Map Depiction (1889); Excavation (1924); Other (2012); Excavation (1965-1970); Earthwork Survey (1999-2005)

Identifiers

Scheduled monument number
1003533
HER
Herefordshire MHE434 (second identifier 931)
National record
record SO 73 NE 11; monument 113497
Wikidata
Q31114196

Sources

References

  1. Bowden, M. 2005. The Malvern Hills an ancient landscape, London: English Heritage.
  2. Brown, I. 2009. Beacons in the landscape. the hillforts of England and Wales, Oxford: Windgather Press/Oxbow Books.
  3. Dorling, P. and Wigley, A. 2012. Assessment of the archaeological and conservation status of major later prehistoric enclosures in Herefordshire and Shropshire, EH PNUM, Version 3.2, Hereford and Shrewsbury: Herefordshire Council/Shropshire Council.
  4. Hilton Price, F.G. 1887. Camps on the Malvern Hills, Trans Woolhope Natur Fld Club, 9 (1877-80), 217-28.
  5. Hughes, I.T 1924: Report on the excavations conducted on Midsummer Hill, Trans Woolhope Natur Fld Club, 1924, 18-27.
  6. Stanford, S.C. 1981. Midsummer Hill, Leominster: Privately published.