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England
Leckhampton HillHillfort
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A stroll up on a lovely Spring evening (25.3.2011). It's nearly a year since I last visited my local site and on reaching the fort I'm pleasantly surprised to find that the enigmatic barrow/square enclosure has been completely cleared of weeds and vegetation, making its form much easier to see than previously. The northernmost stretch of rampart is also clearer than I have seen before. A beautiful sunset over the ramparts finishes the visit perfectly. |
Posted by thesweetcheat4th April 2011ce |
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Visited 27.1.09 - blue skies when I left the house (a mile to the north of the hill) but when I got up the hill it was enveoloped in freezing mist, with no visibility over Cheltenham at all. First time I have been here in January and I wanted to have a look at the earthworks and the "round barrow" outside the eastern entrance. In the interior of the fort I came across a series of circular crop marks in the tufty grass: the largest 10 paces in diameter, the smallest 4 paces. The excavations at the site have focussed on the ramparts and nothing has been excavated within the main enclosed area. These marks are certainly of a size that would be consistent with hut circles (like the ones found at nearby Crickley Hill) but without excavation (or at least a more expert eye than mine) there's no knowing what they are. The rampart curves round from the SW corner of the fort to the NE corner in a shape like a "D" with the top flattened. Along the SE side the rampart is topped with dry stone construction - according to Geoffrey Williams in "The Iron Age Hillforts of England" (1993 Horace Books) the rampart was revetted with dry stone wall, so this may be part of the original construction. As the rampart turns to the north, it becomes more of an earthen bank, leading up to the eastern entrance (which is simply a gap). The mysterious "round barrow/celtic shrine/tree enclosure" is clearly visible on the E side of the rampart, although very difficult to photograph! The square bank is clear, and each side measures approx 20-21 paces. The round barrow (if that's what it is) in the centre is again quite clear, but very low and unimpressive. After this the mist closed in and it started to get wetter, so I headed off back down the steep scarp slope to the north, pausing first to have a look at the earthworks to the NE of the fort that run next to the Cotswold Way footpath. It's not clear what these are or how old they are - in "Prehistoric and Roman Sites of the Cheltenham Area" (1981 Gloucester County Library) W.L. Cox merely mentions that they are of "uncertain use". Helpful! |
Posted by thesweetcheat 27th January 2009ce Edited 27th January 2009ce |
| My local site, approached either directly from the north straight up the steep scarp slope from footpaths off Daisybank Lane, or from the south from the carpark off the road to Hartley Farm. Terrific views over Cheltenham, across to Gloucester, the Malverns, etc. A great spot for a picnic, but watch out for extreme cyclists! The ramparts themselves are not the most impressive, but more than made up for by the setting and views. Outside the south-eastern entrance there is the remains of a round "barrow" inside a square embanked enclosure (see Miscellaneous). |
Posted by thesweetcheat 4th January 2009ce |
Miscellaneous |
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The fort encloses c. 7 acres with a single bank rampart on the south and east sides (the north and west sides are defended by the extremely steep scarp slope). The entrance was defended by two stone guard chambers (see excavation reports in the Links section for detail). Just outside the entrance is square embanked enclosure containing a "barrow". Accounts of what this may be vary: James Dyer - "Discovering Prehistoric Archaeology" (Shire 2001) states that it may be the site of a celtic shrine. L.V. Grinsell - "Gloucestershire Barrows" (Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Arch. Soc. 1960) states: "probably a small round barrow in a roughly square enclosure ... square enclosure may be an 18th century tree-clump enclosure". Tim Darvill - "Prehistoric Gloucestershire" (Alan Sutton Publishing 1987) mentions the similarities between the barrow and Iron Age burial structures in Yorkshire and Humberside. Cheltenham Council - Leckhampton Hill Management Plan states: "This site is part of Scheduled Ancient Monument number 46 and survives as an extremely rare round barrow, a burial mound, within a square enclosure, believed to date from the Iron Age 800BC - 43AD" |
Posted by thesweetcheat 4th January 2009ce Edited 4th January 2009ce |
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Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological SocietyExcavation report from the excavations in the summer of 1925 |
Posted by thesweetcheat 4th January 2009ce |
Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological SocietyExcavation report from the late 1960s excavations at Leckhampton Hill. |
Posted by thesweetcheat 4th January 2009ce |
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