| Stantonbury Camp | |
|---|---|
 The top of Stantonbury Hill | |
| Location | Marksbury, Somerset, England |
| Coordinates | 51°22′15″N2°28′20″W / 51.37083°N 2.47222°W Coordinates: 51°22′15″N2°28′20″W / 51.37083°N 2.47222°W |
| Built | Iron Age |
  Location of Stantonbury Camp in Somerset | |
Stantonbury Camp is the site of an Iron Age hill fort near Stanton Prior within the parish of Marksbury in Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Hill forts developed in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, roughly the start of the first millennium BC. [1] 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. [2] Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe believes that population increase still played a role and has stated "[the forts] provided defensive possibilities for the community at those times when the stress [of an increasing population] burst 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". [3]
The hillfort, which is at the top of an isolated outcrop of Oolitic Limestone, [4] close to the A39 road is on the route of the Wansdyke. [5]
Several iron agricultural implements from the site, including blades of sickles or pruning hooks and the iron tip from an ard, now reside in the collection of the British Museum. [6]
The site is on the English Heritage Heritage at Risk Register as being in danger of deterioration because of extensive animal burrowing. [7]
Cleeve Toot is an Iron Age univallate hillfort above Goblin Combe, Cleeve, Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Black Ball Camp is an Iron Age hill fort South West of Dunster, Somerset, England on the northern summit of Gallox Hill. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Blacker's Hill is an Iron Age hill fort at Chilcompton, 4.5 kilometres (3 mi) south west of Radstock, Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Clatworthy Camp is an Iron Age hill fort 3 miles (4.8 km) North West of Wiveliscombe, Somerset, England. It has been scheduled as an Ancient Monument. Due to the vulnerability to scrub and tree growth it has been added to the Heritage at Risk Register.
Cow Castle is an Iron Age hill fort 5.75 kilometres (4 mi) West South West of Exford, Somerset, England within the Exmoor National Park. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It has been added to the heritage at Risk register because of the risk from bracken.
Kenwalch's Castle is probably an Iron Age hill fort that may have been converted into a Roman fortress, near Penselwood, Somerset, England, 6.6 kilometres (4 mi) east south east of Bruton at grid reference ST747335. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It is believed to be named after Cenwalh of Wessex.
Kingsdown Camp is an Iron Age hill fort at Buckland Dinham 4.5 kilometres (3 mi) South East of Radstock, Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Banwell Camp is a univallate Iron Age hill fort in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. The hill fort is situated approximately 1.6 miles (2.6 km) east from the Village of Banwell. Some artefacts found on the site dates back to the Bronze Age and the Stone Age. In places it is surrounded by a 4 metres (13 ft) high bank and ditch.
King's Castle is a Neolithic hillfort 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) east of Wiveliscombe in Somerset, England. It is surrounded by two banks with a ditch between them. The inner wall ranges up to 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) high and the outer wall gets up to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) high. Arrowheads, scrapers, and borers have been found at the site. A coin hoard of 1139 coins was found in a pot buried 0.30 metres (1 ft) deep.
Westbury Camp is a univallate Iron Age hill fort in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England. The hill fort is situated in the parish of Rodney Stoke, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) north-east of the village of Draycott and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-west of Westbury-sub-Mendip. The camp is largely situated in a hill slope. The north east defences have largely been destroyed by small quarries over the years. The narrow top of the hill bank suggests that it may have been surmounted by a dry stone wall. Along part of the east side of the camp there are traces of a berm between the bank and the outer ditch and at the western angle shallow quarry pits occur internally and externally set back from the 'rampart'.
Roddenbury Hillfort is a univallate Iron Age hillfort in the parish of Selwood, Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and on the Heritage at Risk Register. It is close to the later Hales Castle.
Taps Combe Camp is an Iron Age hill fort in North Somerset, England. The hill fort is situated approximately 1.8 miles (2.9 km) east from the village of Brockley. The hill fort is shaped a lot like a "D", and is approximately 50 metres (160 ft) by 50 metres (160 ft) wide.
Elborough Hill is an univallate Iron Age hill fort situated approximately 1.2 miles (1.9 km) east from the small village of Hutton and 1 mile (1.6 km) south from the village of Elborough in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. The site is oval shaped and is defined by a triple bank on the northern side with a double out-turned bank on the southern side.
Wain's Hill is an univallate Iron Age hill fort situated approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) south-west from the town of Clevedon in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. The hillfort is defined by a steep, natural slope from the south and north with two ramparts to the east.
Road Castle is an Iron Age bank and ditch in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. The hill fort is situated approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) west from the village of Winsford. The ditch is almost square in plan with rounded corners and covers an area of approximately 0.7 acres (0.28 ha).
Berry Castle is an early Roman hillslope enclosure in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. The hill fort is situated approximately 3.2 miles (5.1 km) west from the village of Luccombe. A series of earthworks survive in Berry Castle; it dates from the late Iron Age or early Romano British period. It has been scheduled as an ancient monument.
Broomfield Camp is a univallate Iron Age hill fort in the Taunton Deane district of Somerset, England. The hill fort is situated approximately 0.6 miles (0.97 km) south-east from the village of Broomfield. Broomfield Camp dates from late prehistoric or Roman times. The camp was searched in 1968 and the result uncovered a trench through a bank and ditch which produced Iron Age pottery.
Castles Camp is a univallate Iron Age hill fort in the Taunton Deane district of Somerset, England. The hill fort is situated approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) west from the village of Bathealton. A few trees a scattered around the camp's defences along with Roman coins being found in previous years.
Rodhuish Common is a univallate Iron Age hill fort in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England. There is a small oval enclosure which is thought to be of Iron Age date.
Dinies Camp is a univallate Iron Age hill fort enclosure in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The hill fort is situated approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) south-west from the village of Downhead. The hill fort is considered to be medieval as it is on the site of earlier earthwork.