Skip to content

Home / England / Wiltshire / Yarnbury Castle

Yarnbury Castle

Wiltshire, England · Atlas EN0394

Yarnbury Castle is a contour fort in Steeple Langford, Wiltshire, England.

Other names on the record: Yarnbury Camp.

It is recorded as extant, with a partial bivallate and partial multivallate rampart form, surface evidence of earthen bank and berm, and an enclosed area of 11 hectares.

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

The topographic record places it on a ridge and a spur and at 167 m.

The aspect is recorded as level.

Recorded land use includes pasture.

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

A scheduled monument number is recorded (1005689).

Location

Atlas number: EN0394 (394)
Country: England
Current county or unitary authority: Wiltshire
Historic county: Wiltshire
Parish, community, or townland: Steeple Langford
National Grid reference: SU03524039
Latitude: 51.16271
Longitude: -1.95097
Altitude: 167 m

Form and condition

Type: contour fort
Condition: Extant
Morphology: partial bivallate and partial multivallate
Complete rampart circuit: Yes
Number of ramparts: 3
Ramparts by quadrant: NE 2, SE 3, SW 3, NW 3
Number of ditches: 3
Possible original entrances: 3
Breaks through the ramparts: 7
Enclosed area: 11 ha
Enclosure areas: 5.2 ha, 11 ha
Enclosing works, as visible: earthen bank and berm
Enclosing works, excavated: earthen bank
Also recorded: multi-period enclosure system, ditches, and gang working
Entrance forms: In-turned (East); Oblique (North); Simple Gap (West)

Landscape

Topographic position: ridge and spur
Aspect: level
Land use: pasture

Dating

Dating: 400 BC–AD 50 and AD 50–400
Dating evidence: Artefactual
Dating reliability: B - Medium

Interior and investigation

Interior surface: other roundhouse evidence, pits, and quarry hollows
Interior excavation: pits
Finds: pottery and human bones
Investigations: Excavation (1932); Other (1984); Geophysical Survey (1987); 1st Identified Written Reference (1665-1693); Excavation (1800-1810); 1st Identified Map Depiction (1887-1888)

Identifiers

Scheduled monument number: 1005689
HER: Wiltshire MWI7222
National record: record SU 04 SW 6; monument 215137
Wikidata: Q15949181

Sources

References

Pugh, R.B. and Crittall, E. 1957. A history of Wiltshire, 1.1, The Victoria History of the Counties of England, London: OUP, 1.2, 430.
Cunnington, M.E. 1933. Yarnbury, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Archaeol Natur Hist Mag, 46, 198-217.
Geophysical Surveys of Bradford 1987. Report on Geophysical Survey: Yarnbury Castle, Wiltshire/Spring 1987,Geophysical Surveys of Bradford/Reports.
Colt Hoare, R.C. 1812. The ancient history of Wiltshire, I, London: Miller.