Sidbury Hill, Wiltshire

Sidbury Hill

Sidbury Hill
Shown within Wiltshire
Location Wiltshire
Coordinates 51°15′13″N 1°41′29″W / 51.2537°N 1.6913°W / 51.2537; -1.6913
Area 17 acres (7 ha)
History
Periods Iron Age
Site notes
Public access not easy

Sidbury Hill, or Sidbury Camp, is the site of an Iron Age bivallate hillfort located in Wiltshire. The site is sub-triangular in shape, and approximately 17 acres in area, and is constructed on the site of a neolithic settlement. The hill offers excellent defensive slopes on all sides, which have been supplemented by the double ditch and rampart earthworks. The settlement and hillfort were partially excavated in the 19th century and the 1950s. There were finds of pottery and other artefacts. A straight, well defined ditch extends from the main entrance on the northwest side. This earthwork is one element in an extensive system of boundaries founded on and around Sidbury Hill. The southern section is straight and well preserved. A neolithic settlement site was discovered during the excavation in the 1950s, being of a section of the south-east rampart of the hill fort. A number of flint flakes and tools were recovered.[1]

The site is a scheduled national monument no.10064. The site was wooded, but the trees planted in the 1960s are now being removed, (since Sept 2002) and the area is being allowed to revert to the natural chalk downland. Access to the site is difficult as it is on, or near, Ministry of Defence land, and there are many tank tracks and occasional artillery firing in the area.[2] There are also numerous ditches, barrows, trackways, field systems, and tumuli in the area.

Location

The site is located at grid reference SU216505, to the northwest of the small town of Tidworth, in the county of Wiltshire. The hill has a summit of 223mAOD. There are public footpaths and bridleways in the area, however the surrounding land is managed by the MOD and access to the hill fort may be restricted at times.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "MAGIC portal: Sidbury Hill" (PDF). Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  2. ↑ "The Modern Antiquarian: Sidbury Hill". Retrieved 12 October 2010.
  3. ↑ "MOD managed access". Retrieved 12 October 2010.

See also


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