Segsbury Camp or Segsbury Castle is an
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
hillfort
A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post- Rom ...
on the crest of the
Berkshire Downs, near the
Ridgeway above
Wantage
Wantage () is a historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the V ...
, in the
Vale of White Horse district of
Oxfordshire,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. It is in
Letcombe Regis civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...
and is also called ''Letcombe Castle''.
The fort has extensive ditch and ramparts and four gateways.
Excavation at the site by Dr Phené in 1871 discovered a cist grave on the south side of the hillfort rampart. The grave was floored with stone slabs and the sides were walled with flint. Finds included a shield boss and fragments of an urn or drinking cup. Among other finds were human bones and flint scrapers. It has been suggested that this was a secondary
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
burial, placed at the camp.
Further excavation was carried out in 1996 and 1997. The report on this work describes the periodic occupation of the hillfort between the 6th and 2nd centuries BC and suggests that it was a communal centre for various activities, including sheep management and exchange.
Location
The site is at
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was ...
six-figure .
Image gallery
Image:Segsbury Camp, from the Ridgeway, Oxfrodshire.jpg, Segsbury Camp seen from the west from The Ridgeway
The ancient tree-lined path winds over the downs countryside
The Ridgeway is a ridgeway or ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road. The section clearly identified as an ancient trackway extends from Wiltshire along the chalk r ...
Image:Segsbury Camp - geograph.org.uk - 61183.jpg, Segsbury Camp earthworks
File:Segsbury Camp ditch.JPG, Segsbury Camp ditch
References
Bibliography
Lock, G., Gosden, C. and Daly, P. 2005, ''Segsbury Camp: Excavations in 1996 and 1997 at an Iron Age hillfort on the Oxfordshire Ridgeway'', Oxford University School of Archaeology, Monograph 61
External links
Ancient Britain - Segsbury Camp
Hill forts in Berkshire
Tourist attractions in Oxfordshire
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