Segsbury Camp or Segsbury Castle 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 ...
hillfort
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 ...
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 the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Berkshire, it has been a ...
, in the
Vale of White Horse
The Vale of White Horse is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district of Oxfordshire in England. It Historic counties of England, was historically part of Berkshire. The area is commonly referred to as the 'Vale of ''the'' White Hors ...
district of
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. It is in
Letcombe Regis civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
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, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
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
The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
six-figure .
Image gallery
Image:Segsbury Camp, from the Ridgeway, Oxfrodshire.jpg, Segsbury Camp seen from the west from The Ridgeway
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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