Danish Camp is an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

fortified settlement in

Shoeburyness Shoeburyness ( ), or simply Shoebury, is a coastal town in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England; it lies east of the city centre. It was formerly a separate town until it was absorbed into Southend in 1933. I ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. It is a

Scheduled Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

under the

Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 (c. 46) or AMAAA was a law passed by the UK government, the latest in a series of Ancient Monument Acts legislating to protect the archaeological heritage of England and Wales, and Scotlan ...

, list number 1017206. The site is in the Gunners Park and Shoebury Ranges nature reserve, which is managed by the

Essex Wildlife Trust The Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) is one of 46 The Wildlife Trusts, wildlife trusts which cover the United Kingdom. The EWT was founded in 1959, and it describes itself as Essex's leading conservation charity, which aims to protect wildlife for the ...

. This site is classed by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

as a 'slight univallate hillfort'. There are two sections remaining of the defensive banks of the settlement. The surviving part of the north-western bank is around 80 metres long, and it has an average height of 2 metres and width of 11 metres. The southern bank is slightly lower. There was an external ditch, which is now largely filled. Pottery vessels have been found dating to the Middle Iron Age, around 400 to 200 years BC, together with four round houses and many post holes and pits. There is some evidence of earlier

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

occupation, but as this extends beyond the site it is thought to represent general utilisation of the area. The site was agricultural land until it was purchased by the

Board of Ordnance The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...

in 1849, and some of the visible Iron Age remains were probably lost at that time, while other parts have been lost to

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...

. There is also evidence of Roman occupation in the south-west corner. The site is called the Danish Camp because it was thought to have been constructed by the Danish Viking leader

Hastein Hastein (Old Norse: ''Hásteinn'', also recorded as ''Hastingus'', ''Anstign'', ''Haesten'', ''Hæsten'', ''Hæstenn'' or ''Hæsting'' and alias ''Alsting''Jones, Aled (2003). ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society: Sixth Series'' Cambridge ...

, who is reported by the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

'' to have built a fort at Shoebury in 894; though he might have re-used the existing camp, no evidence has been found of Viking occupation. There is public access to the site, which is between Ness Road and Warrior Square Road.

References

External links

An archaeological excavation in the ‘Danish Camp’ Iron Age defended settlement, Shoebury Garrison, Shoeburyness, Essex, March 2013
{{coord, 51.527, 0.793 , type:landmark_region:GB-BNE, display=title Iron Age sites in England Hill forts in Essex