Summary

Dewerstone Hillfort is sited on the summit of the Dewerstone Rock. It is possible to trace the dry stone perimeter wall for almost the entire circuit.

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Description

Dewerstone Hillfort is sited on the summit of the Dewerstone Rock. It is possible to trace the dry stone perimeter wall for almost the entire circuit. Within the rampart are various features: cairns, pits, terraces and walls; it is not possible to be certain of the chronology of these features, but the hillfort itself may be a Neolithic feature, dating from between c.4300 to 2000 B.C. The site occupies an area of 2.5 hectares. (NT)
The 'defences' are of two dry stone walls, collapsed, 3m apart and each 3m wide. Marginal stones visible, with no ditch. The entrance is at the south end, 1.829m wide , and the north end 914mm wide. (Worth)
Silvester prefers to call Dewerstone site a 'tor enclosure'. Hut circle and pound can be traced within the enclosure, but these may not be contemporary. Siting of enclosures on the higher moors, and the style of construction suggest a date earlier than the Iron Age, 2nd or even 3rd millennium suggested. There are 7 hut circles within the enclosure.
The hillfort rampart and internal features are stone-built. In a few places it is difficult to follow the perimeter of the rampart, but this seems to be because it underlies a soil covering, and is not due to erosion. The terraced fields within the area are in good condition, being off the tracks most visitors and livestock follow. Bracken is a seasonal problem reducing the visibility of the site during the summer.
RCHMR Survey report:
The poorly preserved remains of a stone-built double wall span the lowest part of the saddle on the northern side of Dewerstone Hill, enclosing an area of 2.4ha at the southern end of the spur. It is formed by three fairly straight lengths, which in total extend for some 250m from west to east between two low natural outcrops of granite. The central stretch, which crosses the level part of the saddle, is 100m long; both ends turn back at approximately 45 degrees towards the natural outcrops. The double wall has collapsed and been robbed, so that parts are only traceable as a single mass of tumbled portable stones; elsewhere, there is a relatively clear space between the two distinct banks of stone, and earthfast orthostats, which face parts of both former walls, survive in situ. The inner and outer walls now have average widths of 4.0m and 3.4m respectively, but were probably c.1m narrower originally, maintaining a fairly constant distance of 3.0m apart. The present maximum height of both walls is 0.7m; their widths and loose composition imply that they are unlikely to have stood higher than c.1.5m originally. There is no visible coursing and the facing stones appear to have been usedselectively, mainly in the vicinity of possible entrances. Most of the interior of the enclosure is relatively clear of clitter, but the concentrations increase slightly where the natural slope is stronger. In places, the interior surface level is slightly higher than the enclosure is relatively clear of clitter, but the concentrations increase slightly where the natural slope is stronger. In places, the interior surface level is slightly higher than the exterior, through it is unclear whether this is because the enclosure makes use of the natural topography or due to archaeological deposits within the enclosure.
There are three probable and two possible entrances. Entrance A is most convincing, with ten facing stones in situ or leaning, defining a passage 1.8m wide through both walls. Both the interior and exterior are formed by pairs of in-turned orthostats, the tallest of which, at the southern end of the entrance, stands 1.2m high. The cores of the walls have been heavily robbed in the vicinity, but a continuous line of facing stones extends for 10m along the interior of the inner wall of the west of the probable entrance.
Approximately 37m west of entrance A, a possible entrance is suggested by a break 1.9m widw in the outer wall, with two slightly in-turned facing stones on the exterior. However, this is not matched by any corresponding break in the inner wall.
Entrance B was recorded by Hansford-Worth (1943). Although the most immediately apparent entrance, with a width of 2.6m, it is angled obliquely and is clearly at least partly a relatively recent cut, which continues to be used as a bridleway. There is only a single possible orthostat at right angles to the outer wall to suggest a faced entrance, but the near-central location on the level part of the saddle probably indicates that an earlier entrace was enlarged.
Approximately 15m west of entrance B, a possible entrance is suggested by a partial interruption in the outer wall, 1.3m wide, together with two in-turned facing stones on the exterior and a large earthfast stone at right angles, which may be an incorporated lump of clitter.
The third probable entrance (C) is suggested by two in-turned orthostats on the interior of the inner wall, with two more flanking a passage 1.1m wide. This corresponds with a break in the outer wall, without facing stones.
Hansford-Worth suggested that a confused section of the inner wall some 20m west of entrance B might represent the remains of contemporary buildings (Hansford-Worth 1943). There is no clear evidence to support this; the disturbance seems to result mostly from heavier than average robbing and is therefore likely to be a later modification to the enclosure, and possibly not structural at all.
Hansford-Worth followed the Ordnance Survey First Edition in suggesting that the line of the double wall is continued south-westwards from the western granite outcrop as far as a third natural outcrop, formed by a combination of a single stone wall and artificial accentuation of the natural scarp (D) (Hansford-Worth 1943). Although this remains possible, the feature is more likely to be linked with probable Post-Medieval quarrying of the two natural outcrops. Quarrying may also account for the extremely poor condition of the western end of the double wall. An aerial photographic transcription carried out by RCHME suggested that the eastern end of the double wall might extend down the natural slope to the River Plym, but no evidence for this was found.

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