Ashley's Copse is the site of an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

, about northeast of the city of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

, England, straddling the border between the counties of Wiltshire and Hampshire. The site is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. Half the site is wooded, and here can be found the best preserved earthworks, but there is also visible evidence of some of the earthworks on the eastern spur of the hill.The Modern Antiquarian: Ashleys Copse
/ref> To the southeast of the fort lies a steep valley, forming a natural defence. The flanks to the north and east are also tightly contoured but the ground on the other aspects slopes less steeply. The fort site is not on the summit of the (unnamed) hill, but lies slightly to the east of the 166m AOD summit, at between 155m and 160m AOD.

Location

The site is to the northeast of the village of Middle Winterslow, and falls mostly within the county of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, and partly within the county of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. *

References

{{Authority control Iron Age sites in England Buildings and structures in Hampshire Hill forts in Hampshire Archaeological sites in Hampshire Hill forts in Wiltshire