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Hunsbury Hill is an
20 March 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2009 It is probable that defences were built at Hunsbury Hill between the 7th and 4th centuries BC. The deep ditch excavated has survived to the present day. A wooden rampart was also constructed; there is evidence that Hunsbury hill fort's inner ramparts were burned down and
. 2004. Retrieved 17 August 2009Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust
Retrieved 17 August 2009 As the use of the quarries finished by 1920 the original gauge track was not used. The Trust laid a mixture of standard gauge, gauge and track but from 1982 only standard gauge track has been used.
The area around the hill is the large Northampton housing estate called
Hunsbury Hill is 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 mostl ...
hill fort
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 ...
two miles (3 km) south-west of the centre of the town of Northampton in the county of Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
.Northampton: Hunsbury Hill Park: General Information20 March 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2009 It is probable that defences were built at Hunsbury Hill between the 7th and 4th centuries BC. The deep ditch excavated has survived to the present day. A wooden rampart was also constructed; there is evidence that Hunsbury hill fort's inner ramparts were burned down and
vitrified
Vitrification (from Latin language, Latin ''vitreum'', "glass" via French language, French ''vitrifier'') is the full or partial transformation of a substance into a glass, that is to say, a non-Crystallinity, crystalline amorphous solid. Glasses ...
; this is rare in England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.Northampton Archaeological Society: Hunsbury Hillfort. 2004. Retrieved 17 August 2009
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be con ...
extraction began at the hill fort in about 1883, after an attempt to have the site protected under the Ancient Monuments Act of 1882 failed due to the cost of compensating the landowner. Many of the fort's internal features were destroyed, but the work revealed up to 300 pits which, according to the curator of Northampton Museum in 1887, contained ''"numerous artefacts that now comprise one of the finest collections... of Prehistoric antiquities in England"''. The finds included iron weapons and tools, bronze brooches, pottery, glass and around 159 quern-stone
Quern-stones are stone tools for hand- grinding a wide variety of materials. They are used in pairs. The lower stationary stone of early examples is called a saddle quern, while the upper mobile stone is called a muller, rubber or handstone. The ...
s. All were given to the town's museum.
Hunsbury Hill fort is a designated Scheduled Ancient 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 ...
. Parts of the fort's banks have been badly eroded because of the 19th century quarrying, the effects of burrowing European rabbit
The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa. It has b ...
s and damage from tree roots. It is now managed as a park by West Northamptonshire Council.
Part of the route of the railway built for the quarrying remains and beginning in 1975 has been modified for use by the Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust
The Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust operates a long heritage railway line at Hunsbury Hill, south-west of Northampton. The line is mainly dedicated to freight working, featuring many sharp curves and steep gradients which were typica ...
Tonks :pages 117-20 who added a new line. The track is used and maintained by the Trust.Retrieved 17 August 2009 As the use of the quarries finished by 1920 the original gauge track was not used. The Trust laid a mixture of standard gauge, gauge and track but from 1982 only standard gauge track has been used.
The area around the hill is the large Northampton housing estate called West Hunsbury
West Hunsbury is a large housing estate in the south of the town of Northampton, from the town centre, from the M1 motorway, junction 15A and from junction 15. The motorway can be seen and heard as most of the area is elevated and the wind's ...
.
References
{{Iron Age hillforts in England Hills of Northamptonshire Tourist attractions in Northamptonshire Hill forts in Northamptonshire Parks and open spaces in Northamptonshire