Hembury

Neolithic causewayed enclosure overlain by a multivallate Iron Age hillfort, situated on a wooded promontory above the River Otter, accessible by public footpaths.

Nearest town:
Honiton (6km E)
OS reference:
ST113031
OS sheets:
192, 193
Latitude:
50° 49' 12.22 N
Longitude:
3° 15' 33.69 W

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Hembury

C
CARL Mar 8, 2010

My first ever post on TMA!
Visited the site yesterday (7.3.10) parked next to the house just off the A373 and walked straight up through the bracken (thankfully low) to the top of the hillfort. I didn’t realise that this small side road was private and the owner wasn’t too happy that I had parked there (although I was not blocking anything). She insisted that I should have taken the next turning off the A373 where there was public parking. She also insisted that all the land that side of the fort was private. Anyway, this was all academic as I had this conversation on my way BACK to the car!!
I was very impressed with the size and depth of the ramparts and the overall size of the hillfort. Well worth a visit. Unfortunately, the views were not up to much as the trees blocked most of the vista.

Hembury

G
griff Nov 22, 2000

Visit Hembury in the Winter when the bracken is low and you can get a sense of the contours.
Keep a look out for stones,in particular quartz surrounded by flint.
Enjoy!

Miscellaneous

Hembury
Causewayed Enclosure
Chance
Chance Apr 30, 2014

Details of the Causewayed Enclosure on Pastscape

The remains of a Neolithic causewayed enclosure overlain by an Iron Age hillfort on Hembury Hill. Excavations in 1930-5 by Dorothy Liddell first revealed evidence for Neolithic use of the spur. An arc comprising 8 ditch segments was uncovered, emerging from beneath the later ramparts immediately to the south of the hillfort’s western entrance and running east across the interior before gently curving south and disappearing below the ramparts on the eastern side. A further Neolithic ditch was found in the area of the hillfort’s north east entrance, suggesting the possibility of a second enclosure circuit. An area of Neolithic activity, represented by a scatter of pits, post holes and artefacts was also examined at the southern tip of the spur within the later ramparts. The substantial Neolithic pottery assemblage recovered in 1930-5 made this the type site for Hembury Ware; later broadened to the South-Western style. Evidence for attack was also present in the ditches, with burnt deposits and a number of arrowheads.

Miscellaneous

Hembury
Causewayed Enclosure
Chance
Chance Apr 30, 2014

Details of the Hillfort on Pastscape

The earthwork remains of an Iron Age multivallate hillfort overlying the remains of a Neolithic causewayed enclosure (see ST 10 SW 28). Excavations were undertaken between 1930 and 1935 by Dorothy Liddell, and again between 1980 and 1983 by Malcolm Todd. The hillfort itself appears to date primarily to the later Iron Age. Liddell’s excavations concentrated on the western and north-eastern entrances and their associated gate structures. Excavations by Todd in 1980-83 re-appraised some of her work, as well as looking at areas in the interior. Todd also identified structures and finds indicating a short-lived Roman military presence within the hillfort in the mid to late 1st century AD. Two parallel earthworks cross the hillfort interior west-east, close to the western entrance. Their construction appears to postdate the hillfort ramparts, although unequivocal dating evidence for their construction is lacking. According to Todd, they belong to “the Late Iron Age or later”. The site was included in RCHME’s Industry and Enclosure in the Neolithic. A brief site visit was undertaken but as all the extant earthworks are Iron Age or later, no further survey work was undertaken. Scheduled.

Sites within 20km of Hembury

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