Myrtleberry North Camp

Summary

One of two hill -slope enclosures on Mrytleberry Cleave, both probably Iron Age, although they are not associated or necessarily contemporary with each other. Myrtleberry North Camp lies at the north -east corner of the spur. It is 50 metres x 80 metres, and is defended on the north -west and south by a rampart 9 metres high from the bottom of the ditch, which is 1.5 metres deep; it has an overlapping entrance. The east side is defended naturally by a precipitous slope.

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Description

One of two hill -slope enclosures on Mrytleberry Cleave, both probably Iron Age, although they are not associated or necessarily contemporary with each other.
Myrtleberry North Camp lies at the north -east corner of the spur. It is 50 metres x 80 metres, and is defended on the north -west and south by a rampart 9 metres high from the bottom of the ditch, which is 1.5 metres deep; it has an overlapping entrance. The east side is defended naturally by a precipitous slope.

The monument includes a late prehistoric multiple enclosure fort known as Myrtleberry North Camp, it is of the cross bank type which are typically located on spurs or promentories. It comprises an inner enclosure defined partly by bank and ditch and partly by scarping, and an outer, larger enclosure defined by the natural breaks of slope coupled with a bank and ditch which cuts across the neck of the spur upon which the site is located. Both enclosures are considered to be Iron Age and are thought to be contemporary. The inner enclosure occupies the north end of a north east facing spur which overlooks a steep-sided loop of the East Lyn River, whilst the outer enclosure occupies the remainder of the relatively flat spur before it rises sharply to the south west. The enclosures thus have steep natural slopes on all sides except on the south west approaches where they are overlooked by rising ground; it is on this side that the cross bank is located, some 150m forward of the inner enclosure. The defences of the broadly contemporary promentory fort of Countisbury Castle are clearly visible above the valley slopes on the other side of the the East Lyn River. The roughly oval inner enclosure occupies the terminal end of the natural spur and it measures about 74m by 40m giving an internal area of nearly 0.3ha. The artifical boundary of the enclosure is most clearly defined on its western side by a rampart which has a maximum width of 4.2m and which is 2m high in places above the bottom of its associated ditch. The ditch is 4.8m wide at its widest point with an outer scarp about 1m high; there are slight traces of a counterscarp bank. The remainder of the circuit appears to have been created by the scarping of the natural valley slopes. The original entrance is on the north west side where there is a 3m wide gap in the rampart with a slight causeway over the ditch; other entrances are considered to be modern. The interior of the enclosure appears to be sub-divided by a 2m high scarp which creates a platform about 30m by 25m at its southern end. The inner enclosure of a multiple enclosure fort is usually considered to have been the focus of settlement and that is likely to have been the case here. The outer enclosure is defined almost entirely by natural slopes, which are likely to have been artificially steepened by scarping, except at the south west where a bank and ditch traverse the spur for a distance of about 82m leaving a gap at the western end which is thought to be the original entrance; a more central gap in the earthwork is considered to be modern. The bank has maximum dimensions of 1.2m in height by 5.5m in width. It is fronted by a ditch some 10.5m wide and 1.4m deep although natural infilling of the ditch over the course of two millennia will have concealed its true depth. The relatively flat area of ground providing the outer enclosure is about 150m by 50m, or 0.75ha. Such outer enclosures are usually considered to have been used for the coralling of stock. It seems likely that access to the enclosures was along a hollow way which approaches from the south and enters the outer enclosure through a gap at the western end of the cross bank. The hollow way continues parallel with the spur directly to the entrance of the inner enclosure; it varies in width between 2m and 4m . There are a number of trial prospecting pits (known as costeans) for iron ore located around the site; these are thought to be C19th in date. Several are recorded in or around the inner enclosure with at least one dug several metres into the bottom of the ditch on its south west side. The spoil from this delving has completely infilled a section of the ditch. Further workings are recorded down the slope to the north west of the entrance to the inner enclosure and forward of the outer enclosure although these lie outside the scheduling.
Despite some disturbance caused by the digging of iron mining prospecting pits, the camp survives well as a rare example of the cross bank type, with both of its enclosures clearly defined by a combination of earthworks and scarping of the natural slopes. It is part of a group of diverse and broadly contemporary monuments in the immediate area which give an indication of the nature of settlemet during the later prehistoric period. The monument will retain archaeological evidence, both within the interior of the enclosures and within the ramparts and buried ditch deposits, which will be informative about the monument, the landscape in which it was constructed and the lives of its inhabitants - Scheduling document AA 74774/1 August 2002

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