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Road Castle

Hillfort

<b>Road Castle</b>Posted by juameiImage © © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2015.
Also known as:
  • Monument No. 35715

Nearest Town:Minehead (14km NE)
OS Ref (GB):   SS86283757 / Sheet: 181
Latitude:51° 7' 31.94" N
Longitude:   3° 37' 30.85" W

Added by Chance


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<b>Road Castle</b>Posted by juamei

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Details of hill fort on Pastscape

[SS 86293758] Road Castle (NAT) Camp (NR) Road Castle, an almost square camp, some distance below the top of the hill about quarter of a mile SE of Exford. The defence on the E, S & W was a high bank of stones mixed with earth, with a ditch below, whilst on the N it was a steep scarp with a ditch below now much silted up. The E side has been destroyed and replaced by a modern bank and hedge, where the entrance seems to have been. (2). Road Castle Camp: univallate hill fort under 3 acres. (3) This is a small, apparently Iron Age, enclosure situated on the highest point at the end of a ridge. The rampart is strong, and it is particularly well preserved on the southern side.Re-surveyed at 1:2500. (4) SS 864376. "Road Castle (intrenchments) S of Lyncombe Wood". Scheduled. (5)
Road Castle is a strongly fortified site under improved pasture. The bank is 4.5m high on the S, where it is best preserved. On the N side ploughing has masked the rampart, the ditch is slight and two breaches have been made in the defences. On the E most of the defences have been destroyed by a hedge bank which runs N - S across the N part of the site but then turns SE, leaving a gap between the field and the surviving defences on the S and it is probable that this is the original entrance. Visited 30 3 73. (6)( SS 86293758) Road Castle (NAT) Earthwork (NR) (7) The site is within the Exmoor National Park Farm Conservation Scheme. It is now fenced off separately from the surrounding land. Large scale survey is planned during the winter of 1997 as part of RCHME's East Exmoor project. (12) Scheduling amended. (13)
The earthworks of the Road Castle bank and ditch defined later prehistoric enclosure are clearly visible on aerial photographs of the 1940s onwards. The enclosing banks are up to 13 metres in diameter, defining an almost square internal area of circa 0.25 hectares. The external ditch is only clearly visible on the southern side. No internal features can be seen on the photographs available to the survey. (14-16)
Chance Posted by Chance
27th December 2014ce