Hod Hill (or Hodd Hill) is a large

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

in the

Blackmore Vale The Blackmore Vale (; less commonly spelt ''Blackmoor'') is a vale, or wide valley, in north Dorset, and to a lesser extent south Somerset and southwest Wiltshire in southern England. Geography The vale is part of the Stour valley and part of ...

, north-west of

Blandford Forum Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour, north-west of Poole. It had a population of 10,355 at the United Kingdom 2021 census, 2021 census. The town is notable for its Georgian archit ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England. The fort sits on a

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

hill of the same name that lies between the adjacent

Dorset Downs The Dorset Downs are an area of chalk downland in the centre of the county Dorset in south west England. The downs are the most western part of a larger chalk formation which also includes (from west to east) Cranborne Chase, Salisbury Plain, ...

and

Cranborne Chase Cranborne Chase () is an area of central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. It is part of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The area is dominated by, ...

. The hill fort at

Hambledon Hill Hambledon Hill is a prehistoric hill fort in Dorset, England, in the Blackmore Vale five miles northwest of Blandford Forum. The hill itself is a chalk outcrop, on the southwestern corner of Cranborne Chase, separated from the Dorset Downs by t ...

is just to the north. The name probably comes from Old English "hod", meaning a shelter, though "hod" could also mean "hood", referring to the shape of the hill. The fort is roughly rectangular (), with an enclosed area of . There is a steep natural slope down to the River Stour to the west, the other sides have an artificial

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department ** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...

, ditch and

counterscarp A scarp and a counterscarp are the inner and outer sides, respectively, of a ditch or moat used in fortifications. Attackers (if they have not bridged the ditch) must descend the counterscarp and ascend the scarp. In permanent fortifications, the ...

(outer bank), with an additional rampart on the north side. The main entrance is at the south-east corner, with other openings at the south-west and north-east corners. Northern side of the hillfort on Hod Hill - geograph

Northern side of the hillfort on Hod Hill - geograph

The hillfort was inhabited by the

Durotriges The Durotriges were one of the Celtic tribes living in British Iron Age, Britain prior to the Roman invasion of Britain, Roman invasion. The tribe lived in modern Dorset, south Wiltshire, south Somerset and Devon east of the River Axe (Lyme Bay), ...

in the late

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 ...

; whether this is the same tribe who fortified the hilltop in the middle Iron Age (

radiocarbon Carbon-14, C-14, C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic matter is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and coll ...

analysis suggests a date of 500 BC for the main rampart) is unknown. There is extensive evidence of settlement within the fort, including platforms for roundhouses. Hod Hill is the second in a series of Iron Age earthworks, starting from

, and including Hod Hill,

Spetisbury Spetisbury () is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour and the A350 road, A350, southeast of Blandford Forum. According to the Domesday Book of 1086, th ...

Rings,

Buzbury Rings Buzbury Rings is an Iron Age hillfort about east of Blandford Forum and northwest of the village of Tarrant Keyneston, in Dorset, England. It is a scheduled monument. Description The site is on a hill on Keynston Down. There is an inner encl ...

Badbury Rings Badbury Rings is an Iron Age hill fort and Scheduled Monument in east Dorset, England. It was in the territory of the Durotriges. In the Roman era a temple was located immediately west of the fort, and there was a Romano-British town known as ''Vi ...

and

Dudsbury Camp Dudsbury Camp (or Dudsbury Rings) is one of a series of British Iron Age, Iron Age earthworks in Dorset, starting from Hambledon Hill, and including Hod Hill, Spetisbury Rings, Buzbury Rings, Badbury Rings and Dudsbury Camp. The Iron Age port at ...

. The Iron Age port at

Hengistbury Head Hengistbury Head (), formerly also called Christchurch Head, is a headland jutting into the English Channel between Bournemouth and Mudeford in the English county of Dorset. It is a site of international importance in terms of its archaeolog ...

forms a final Iron Age monument in this small chain of sites. Although it is traditionally thought that the hill was captured in AD 43 by the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Second Legion (Augusta), led by

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

, who by then had already captured

Maiden Castle Maiden Castle or the Maiden's Castle may refer to: Historical fortifications in England ''Maiden'' derives from the Celtic ''Mai Dun'' which means 'great hill'. *Maiden Castle, Cheshire, an Iron Age hill fort * Maiden Castle, Cumbria, a Roman for ...

and other hill forts to the south, this interpretation now seems unlikely. It is clear that the hillfort had long been abandoned by the time the Roman army arrived in Dorset, the many iron

ballista The ballista (Latin, from Ancient Greek, Greek βαλλίστρα ''ballistra'' and that from βάλλω ''ballō'', "throw"), plural ballistae or ballistas, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an Classical antiquity, ancient missile weapon tha ...

bolts which have been found across the hill, clustered in the so-called "Chieftain's hut" area (two

hut circle In archaeology, a hut circle is a circular or oval depression in the ground which may or may not have a low stone wall around it that used to be the foundation of a round house. The superstructure of such a house would have been made of timber an ...

s, one of which had an enclosure around it) are now more likely viewed as having been fired from the later Roman fort during target practice. The Romans built a

camp Camp may refer to: Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution * Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups * Extermination ...

() in the north-west corner of the original fort, possibly occupied by a mixed force of

legionaries The ancient Rome, Roman legionary (in Latin ''legionarius''; : ''legionarii'') was a citizen soldier of the Roman army. These soldiers would conquer and defend the territories of ancient Rome during the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Republic and ...

and

auxiliaries Auxiliaries are combat support, support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular army, regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties ...

. The fort was used as a base for about 5 or 6 years, but passed out of use by about AD 50, when troops were withdrawn, after a fire, for the campaigns against

Caractacus Caratacus was a 1st-century AD British chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe, who resisted the Roman conquest of Britain. Before the Roman invasion, Caratacus is associated with the expansion of his tribe's territory. His apparent success led ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and the remaining men were moved to a new fort further west at

Waddon Hill Waddon Hill is a hill and the site of a short-lived Roman fort near Beaminster, in the English county of Dorset. The name ''Waddon'' is from the Old English, meaning ''wheat hill''. The Wessex Ridgeway passes to the north of the hill summit a ...

The site was excavated in the 1950s by Sir

Ian Richmond Sir Ian Archibald Richmond, (10 May 1902 – 5 October 1965) was an English archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of the Archaeology of the Roman Empire at the University of Oxford. In addition, he was Director of the British School at ...

and his final report was published in 1969. Today the hill is an important

calcareous grassland Calcareous grassland (or alkaline grassland) is an ecosystem associated with thin basic soil, such as that on chalk and limestone downland. There are large areas of calcareous grassland in northwestern Europe, particularly areas of southern Engla ...

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

, home to spectacular

wild flower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, rather than being intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is any different from the native plant, even ...

s and

butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

. The hillfort 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 ...

which is in the care of the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

with public access. The site was on the

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...

but was removed in 2022 as a result of the Hillforts and Habitats Project.

References

Sources

''Castles from the air''
Roly Smith (2000), in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. * ''The Making Of The Dorset Landscape'', Christopher Taylor, Hodder & Stoughton (London 1970). * ''Dorset and the Second Legion'', Norman Field (1992), . * Contains a hand-drawn, plan-view illustration of the site on page 67.

External links

Hod Hill's page on the National Trust's site
{{Iron Age hillforts in England Hills of Dorset Hill forts in Dorset Roman fortifications in England History of Dorset Archaeological sites in Dorset Roman sites in Dorset Roman auxiliary forts in England National Trust properties in Dorset