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Highbury Hill in 
Some Roman silver coins were found at the site in the late 18th century.
Clutton, Somerset
Clutton is a village and civil parish on the eastern edge of the Chew Valley, close to the Cam Brook river, in the Bath and North East Somerset Council area, within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The village lies east of the A37 ...
, England is the site of the earthwork remains of an 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 ...
univallate hillfort
A hillfort is a type of fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late European Bronze Age and Iron Age. Some were used in the post- Roman period. The fortif ...
. It occupies an area of woodland at the end of a narrow ridge. 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 ...
, meaning that it is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The site lies in an area of woodland at the south eastern end of a narrow ridge with steep slopes around it. There is a outer bank which is long with a shallow wide ditch.
Some Roman silver coins were found at the site in the late 18th century.
Background
Hill forts developed in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, roughly the start of the first millennium BC. The reason for their emergence in Britain, and their purpose, has been a subject of debate. It has been argued that they could have been military sites constructed in response to invasion from continental Europe, sites built by invaders, or a military reaction to social tensions caused by an increasing population and consequent pressure on agriculture. The dominant view since the 1960s has been that the increasing use of iron led to social changes in Britain. Deposits of iron ore were located in different places to the tin and copper ore necessary to make bronze, and as a result trading patterns shifted and the old elites lost their economic and social status. Power passed into the hands of a new group of people. ArchaeologistBarry Cunliffe
Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe (born 10 December 1939), usually known as Sir Barry Cunliffe, is a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been ...
believes that population increase still played a role and has stated " he fortsprovided defensive possibilities for the community at those times when the stress f an increasing populationburst out into open warfare. But I wouldn't see them as having been built because there was a state of war. They would be functional as defensive strongholds when there were tensions and undoubtedly some of them were attacked and destroyed, but this was not the only, or even the most significant, factor in their construction".
See also
*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 ...
References
{{reflist History of Somerset Hill forts in Somerset Iron Age sites in Somerset Scheduled monuments in Bath and North East Somerset