Norton Camp is a

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 ...

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 ...

at Norton Fitzwarren near

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England.

Background

Hill forts developed in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, roughly the start of the 1st millennium BCE. The reason for their emergence in Britain, and their purpose, has been a subject of debate. It has been argued that they could have been military sites constructed in response to invasion from continental Europe, sites built by invaders, or a military reaction to social tensions caused by an increasing population and consequent pressure on agriculture. The dominant view since the 1960s has been that the increasing use of iron led to social changes in Britain. Deposits of iron ore were located in different places to the tin and copper ore necessary to make bronze, and as a result trading patterns shifted and the old elites lost their economic and social status. Power passed into the hands of a new group of people. Archaeologist

Barry Cunliffe Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe (born 10 December 1939), usually known as Sir Barry Cunliffe, is a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been ...

believes that population increase still played a role and has stated " he fortsprovided defensive possibilities for the community at those times when the stress f an increasing populationburst out into open warfare. But I wouldn't see them as having been built because there was a state of war. They would be functional as defensive strongholds when there were tensions and undoubtedly some of them were attacked and destroyed, but this was not the only, or even the most significant, factor in their construction".

Description

The earthwork consists of a single

circular rampart A circular rampart () is an embankment built in the shape of a circle that was used as part of the defences for a military fortification, hill fort or refuge, or was built for religious purposes or as a place of gathering. The period during which ...

('' univallate'') up to 3 m high, with three ''holloway'' entrances dominated by linear banks extending out from the main perimeter. The ring has a diameter of about , enclosing an area of . The fort is at the top of low hill about 1 km north of the

River Tone The River Tone is a river in the English county of Somerset. The river is about long. Its River source, source is at Beverton Pond near Huish Champflower in the Brendon Hills, and is dammed at Clatworthy Reservoir. The reservoir outfall con ...

History

The site was excavated by Mr. H. St. George Gray in July 1908. The original ditch was shown to be deep. Pottery shards dated from the

and 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 ...

period, but no evidence of occupation from other periods. Further excavations in 1968–1971 by Nancy and Philip Langmaid found flints from the

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

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

, as well as extensive hoards of bronze metalwork, 9 bracelets, an axe-head and sword moulds from the Bronze Age (700 BCE). They also found evidence of refortifiction in the

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 ...

, from the period before Roman occupation (around 43 CE). In 1981, a

axe-head made from greensand chert was found. There is further evidence from aerial photographs of cropmarks and post holes, possibly from roundhouses. The site is next to Norton Manor Camp, home of 40 Commando,

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

. The

Ancient Monument An ancient monument can refer to any early or historical manmade structure or architecture. Certain ancient monuments are of cultural importance for nations and become symbols of international recognition, including the Baalbek, ruins of Baalbek ...

is included 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 ...

due to its vulnerability to arable ploughing. In 2019 the site was bought by Somerset West and Taunton Council in collaboration with Somerset Heritage Trust. The whole site is now open to the public.

References

* ''The Archaeology of Somerset'', Michael Aston and Ian Burrow (Eds) (1982) {{ISBN, 0-86183-028-8

External links

Somerset Historic Environment Record (Site no. 43399)
Hill forts in Somerset History of Somerset Scheduled monuments in Taunton Dene Structures on the Heritage at Risk register in Somerset Bronze Age sites in Somerset Norton Fitzwarren

Background

Description

History

See also

References

External links