Portfield also known as Planes Wood Camp is a late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

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 ...

situated close to the town of Whalley in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

. It is thought to have originally been constructed as a

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 ...

structure and then modified into a small multivallate one sometime after. It is located on a slight

promontory A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the so ...

overlooking the valley of the River Calder, with the ground falling particularly rapidly to the west. A flat, possibly artificially levelled area measuring approximately , appears to have originally enclosed by a single

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

, with a least one entrance on the northern side. The irregularly-shaped site, with an area a little over , is above sea level. The surrounding land slopes fairly steeply on the southeast, and little less so on the northwest sides, while to the northeast the drop is only slight. No evidence remains of a bank on the western side and it could be that the slope here, which is most extreme on the upper , may have been considered defence enough. Generally the defences have not survived well, but at the northwest corner where they are best preserved, there is a section of triple bank and ditch up to high, thought to represent later modifications. Today the site is protected as a

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 ...

, but it was not until 1981. Starting in the 1950s, the Haweswater Aqueduct was constructed through the site. As part of the work, limited

archaeological excavation In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

undertaken in 1957, discovered a section of cobbled pavement at the entrance and pottery dated to the second century AD. In 1966, workmen laying an additional pipeline across the hillfort, discovered a hoard of nine Bronze Age artefacts including a gold bracelet and

lock ring A lock ring, also spelled lock-ring, is a late Bronze Age penannular (incomplete ring) hair ornament. Typically made in gold, the intricate, decorative jewellery is recognized for its highly skilled workmanship. The name is derived from its sugges ...

. Additional small digs in the 1960s and 70s recovered finds dating from the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

period through to

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. Planes Wood is an area of woodland on the steep slope to the west. Since at least the 16th century, the name Portfield has been attached to a farm at the northeast edge of the site. The English word 'port' may have been borrowed from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, a possible meaning of which is haven or refuge.

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

consider Portfield to be a rare example in north west England of a univallate hillfort subsequently modified to become multivallate.

References

Hill forts in Lancashire Scheduled monuments in Lancashire Buildings and structures in Ribble Valley {{UK-archaeology-stub

See also

References