Ruborough Camp 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 ...
on the
Quantock Hills
The Quantock Hills west of Bridgwater in Somerset, England, consist of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land. They were England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, designated in 1956.
Natural England have desi ...
near
Broomfield in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, England. The name comes from ''Rugan beorh'' or ''Ruwan-beorge'' meaning ''Rough Hill''. It is 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 ...
and on the
Heritage at Risk Register
An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...
.
Description
The
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 ...
is on an easterly spur from the main Quantock ridge, with steep natural slopes to the north and south-east. The fort is triangular in shape, with a single rampart and ditch (
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 ...
), enclosing . There is a linear outer work about 120 m away, parallel to the westerly rampart, enclosing another 1.8
ha.
There was a tunnel, which has now been filed in, which gave the camp safe access to a nearby spring for water.
It was common for ancient hill forts to be reused as pens for domesticated animals in the
Medieval
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 ...
period, and there is documentary evidence that Ruborough became a ''porcheria'', or piggery, owned by the
Saxon domain of
Somerton Somerton may refer to:
Places Australia
* Somerton, New South Wales
* Somerton Park, South Australia, a seaside Adelaide suburb
** Somerton Man, unsolved case of an unidentified man found dead in 1948 on the Somerton Park beach
* Somerton, Victoria ...
.
See also
*
Plainsfield Camp
Plainsfield Camp (or ''Park Plantation'' or Cockercombe Castle) is a possible Iron Age earthwork on the Quantock Hills near Aisholt in Somerset, England.
The so-called hill fort has several features that make it more likely to be an animal encl ...
*
Dowsborough
Dowsborough Camp (or ''Danesborough'' or ''Dawesbury'') is an Iron Age hill fort on the Quantock Hills near Nether Stowey in Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Scheduled Monument. The fort and associated round barrow has been added ...
*
Trendle Ring
*
List of hill forts and ancient settlements in Somerset
Somerset is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is a rural county of rolling hills, such as the Mendip Hills, Quantock Hills and Exmoor National Park, and large flat expanses of land including the Somerset Levels. Modern man came to w ...
*
Hillforts in Britain Hillforts in Britain refers to the various hillforts within the island of Great Britain. Although the earliest such constructs fitting this description come from the Neolithic British Isles, with a few also dating to later Bronze Age Britain, Britis ...
*
Hillfort
References
* ''Dumnonia and the Valley of the Parret'', Rev W.H.P.Greswell, 1922
{{reflist
External links
Ruborough Camp Somerset Historic Environment Record (Site no. 10228)
Hill forts in Somerset
History of Somerset
Scheduled monuments in Sedgemoor
Structures on the Heritage at Risk register in Somerset