Beacon Hill, also known as Harting Beacon, is a

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 ...

on the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. ...

, in the county of

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

in southern England. The hillfort is located in the parish of

Elsted and Treyford Elsted and Treyford is a civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, west of Midhurst. It contains the settlements of Elsted Elsted is a village and Anglican parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies within t ...

, in

Chichester District Chichester is a local government district in West Sussex, England. Its council is based in the city of Chichester and the district also covers a large rural area to the north. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Go ...

.Historic England 2015. 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 ...

with a list entry identification number of 1015915. The hilltop enclosure is dated to the 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 ...

, from the 8th to 6th centuries BC.Historic England 2017. The hillfort defences were renewed during the Late

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 ...

. The fort extends approximately east-west by approximately north-south, and covers an area of approximately . Archaeological investigations of the hillfort took place from 1948 to 1952, and from 1976 to 1977.

Cross dyke A cross dyke or cross-dyke (also referred to as a cross-ridge dyke, covered way, linear ditch, linear earthwork or spur dyke) is a linear earthwork believed to be a prehistoric land boundary that usually measures between in length. A typical cr ...

s on neighbouring hills are considered to be outlying defences associated with the fort. As well as the Bronze Age remains, the area of the fort also includes an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

burial mound, and the foundations of a late 18th-century telegraph station.

Description

The hillfort is situated on the top of the hill and is defined by a single rampart and a flat-bottomed ditch,Dyer 2001, p. 175. which survives as a low bank up to wide. The rampart was originally faced with timber, with timber palisades acting as retaining walls on both the inside and the outside. The rampart infill was built with a mixture of soil and chalk, and is best preserved on the south side. On the east and west sides, erosion has reduced the rampart to a scarp, with the ditch silted in to form a terrace. The enclosure is roughly rectangular, with an entrance on the west side.Historic England 2017. Dyer 2001, p. 175. Excavations of the west entrance revealed that a large timber gate was built within the entrance causeway, and uncovered two penannular gold rings (incomplete or unclosed rings). It is possible that there was a second entrance on the northeast side, where a modern track crosses the rampart. Investigation of the interior revealed a general lack of features except for traces a number of small four- and six-posted structures. These are interpreted as having been raised granaries.

Related monuments

Within the enclosure is a small

bowl barrow A bowl barrow is a type of burial mound or tumulus. A barrow is a mound of earth used to cover a tomb. The bowl barrow gets its name from its resemblance to an upturned bowl. Related terms include ''cairn circle'', ''cairn ring'', ''howe'', ''ke ...

which measured approximately high and measures approximately across. This burial mound has been destroyed by modern ploughing. It stood in the southeastern corner of the fort; excavation in 1976 uncovered a burial, disturbed by earlier antiquarian digging. The burial mound was identified as an

'' hlaew''. Also within the fort enclosure are the remains of a late 18th-century

telegraph station Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

. Traces remain in the form of rectangular earthworks and stone, concrete, and brick foundations. The station was a part of the

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

semaphore line An optical telegraph is a line of stations, typically towers, for the purpose of conveying textual information by means of visual signals. There are two main types of such systems; the semaphore telegraph which uses pivoted indicator arms and ...

s traverse the ridges to the east and west of the Beacon Hill. These are considered to be outlying defences associated with the fort. When Harting Beacon fell into disuse, it may have been replaced by the nearby

hillfort at

Torberry Hill Torberry Hill (also spelled Tarberry Hill and Torbery Hill) is an British Iron Age, Iron Age hillfort in the county of West Sussex, in southern England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, with a list entry identification number of 1015966. The hi ...

. This conjecture is supported by the known chronology of the two sites.

Air Crash

On the 19 February 1936 a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Handley Page Heyford The Handley Page Heyford was a twin-engine biplane bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page. It holds the distinction of being the last biplane heavy bomber to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). The ...

(K4024) of No. 10 Squadron RAF crashed into the side of Beacon Hill in heavy fog. Three of the Four crew died in the crash.

Notes

References

* Cunliffe, Barry (1995). ''Iron Age Britain''. London, England: B. T. Batsford and English Heritage. . *Cunliffe, Barry (2006). "Understanding hillforts: have we progressed?". ''The Wessex Hillforts Project: Extensive Survey of Hillfort Interiors in Central Southern England''. London, England: English Heritage. pp. 151–162. . . *Dyer, James (2001). ''Discovering Prehistoric England''. Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, UK: Shire Books. . . * *

External links

* {{Authority control Hills of West Sussex Bronze Age sites in West Sussex Scheduled monuments in West Sussex Anglo-Saxon sites in England Telegraph stations Aviation accidents and incidents locations in England