Beacon Hill, also known as Harting Beacon, is a

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

on the

South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England 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 ...

, in the county of

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

in southern England. The hillfort is located in the parish of Elsted and Treyford, in

Chichester District Chichester is a local government district in West Sussex, England. It is named after the city of Chichester, which is its largest settlement and where the council is based. The district includes the towns of Midhurst, Petworth and Selsey and s ...

.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, visu ...

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

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, 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 historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. 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, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

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'', ''ker ...

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. 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 city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

–

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

semaphore line An optical telegraph is a line of stations, typically towers, for the purpose of conveying textual information by means of visual signals (a form of optical communication). There are two main types of such systems; the semaphore telegraph whic ...

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

Air crash

On 19 February 1936 a

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 Iron Age sites in West Sussex