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Old Oswestry

Shropshire, England · Atlas EN0075

Old Oswestry is a contour fort in Selattyn and Gobowen, Shropshire, England.

It is recorded as extant, with a multivallate rampart form, surface evidence of earthen bank and counterscarp bank, and an enclosed area of 5.3 hectares.

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

The topographic record places it on a knoll or outcrop and at 165 m.

The aspect is recorded as level.

Recorded land use includes pasture and scrub or bracken.

Dating evidence is recorded for 800–400 BC and 400 BC–AD 50 (Artefactual and Morphology/Earthwork/Typology). Reliability is recorded as C - Low.

A scheduled monument number is recorded (1014899).

Location

Atlas number
EN0075 (75)
Country
England
Current county or unitary authority
Shropshire
Historic county
Shropshire
Parish, community, or townland
Selattyn and Gobowen
National Grid reference
SJ295310
Latitude
52.87198
Longitude
-3.04785
Altitude
165 m

Form and condition

Type
contour fort
Condition
Extant
Morphology
multivallate
Complete rampart circuit
No
Number of ramparts
7
Ramparts by quadrant
NE 5, SE 5, SW 7, NW 7
Number of ditches
5
Possible original entrances
2
Breaks through the ramparts
2
Enclosed area
5.3 ha
Enclosing works, as visible
earthen bank and counterscarp bank
Enclosing works, excavated
earthen bank, stone wall, and palisade
Also recorded
multi-period enclosure system and ditches
Entrance forms
Passage-way/Corridor (West); In-turned (West); Other Forms (West); Passage-way/Corridor (East); In-turned (East)

Landscape

Topographic position
knoll or outcrop
Aspect
level
Land use
pasture and scrub or bracken

Dating

Dating
800–400 BC and 400 BC–AD 50
Dating evidence
Artefactual and Morphology/Earthwork/Typology
Dating reliability
C - Low

Interior and investigation

Interior excavation
roundhouses and rectangular structures
Finds
pottery and metalworking
Investigations
Other (1977); Other (2012); 1st Identified Written Reference (1665-1693); 1st Identified Map Depiction (1885-1900); Excavation (1939-1940); Other (1993-2000)

Identifiers

Scheduled monument number
1014899
HER
Shropshire 351
National record
record SJ 23 SE 7; monument 66112
Wikidata
Q31113356

Sources

References

  1. 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.
  2. Hughes, G 1994. Old Oswestry Hillfort. Excavations by W.J. Varley 1939-40, Arch Camb, 143, 46-91;
  3. Smith, N. 2010. Old Oswestry. Selattyn and Gobowen, Shropshire: Analysis of Earthworks: Archaeological Survey. Swindon. English Heritage Research Department Report Series no. 82-2010.
  4. Varley, W.J. 1948. The hillforts of the Welsh Marches, Archaeol J, 105, 41-6.
  5. Watson 2002: Shropshire an archaeological guide, 30-1, aerial photo, Shrewsbury: Shropshire Books; Hannaford 2007; Smith 2010.