Martinsell Hill, near Oare and north of

Pewsey Pewsey is a large village and civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about south of Marlborough and west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and is served by Pewsey railway station on the Rea ...

, is the third highest point in 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 ...

, southwest England, at some 289 m / 948 ft above sea level. It 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 ...

Location

Martinsell Hill rises about 2 km east-northeast of the village of Oare, 2 km northwest of the village of

Wootton Rivers Wootton Rivers is a small village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England. The village lies about northeast of Pewsey and south of Marlborough. During the 20th century its population halved and most of its facilities close ...

, and about 4 km north-northeast of the town of

. The hill is part of an east–west ridge on the northern flanks of the

Vale of Pewsey The Vale of Pewsey or Pewsey Vale is an area of Wiltshire, England to the east of Devizes and south of Marlborough, centred on the village of Pewsey. Geography The vale is an extent of lower lying ground separating the chalk downs of Salisbury ...

, and overlooks the Salisbury Avon and the

Kennet & Avon Canal The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the cent ...

. The Mid Wilts Way runs along the back of the ridge. There is a

trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

at the top. To the west are Oare Hill and the grounds of Rainscombe House.Ordnance Survey ''Landranger'' map, 1:50,000 series, no. 173. There are good views from the top, including

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury. The buildi ...

, over 25 miles away.

Fort

At the summit is an

univallate 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 ...

of with a clearly visible

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

and

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...

system. The entrance appears to be to the northeast where there is also a ditch. The fort is the second highest prehistoric camp in Wiltshire. The hillfort is a scheduled ancient monument and was partially excavated by

Colt Hoare Sir Richard Colt Hoare, 2nd Baronet FRS (9 December 1758 – 19 May 1838) was an English antiquarian, archaeologist, artist, and traveller of the 18th and 19th centuries, the first major figure in the detailed study of the history of his home c ...

References

Hills of Wiltshire {{Wiltshire-geo-stub