Titterstone Clee Hill Camp And Two Ring Cairns
- HER Number (PRN): 00427
- Site Name : Titterstone Clee Hill Camp And Two Ring Cairns
- Protected Status:
Grade: Ref No.: 1008391 Title: Slight univallate hillfort Type: Scheduled Monument - Civil Parish:
- Grid Reference: SO 5951 7798
- Brief Description: Scheduled Monument: An Iron Age hillfort with one of the largest interior areas in Shropshire, Titterstone Clee Hill Camp would have been of considerable importance in its lifetime and is a significant example of a nationally rare hillfort type (with a single relatively slight rampart, here of an unusual drystone construction).
- Description: Finds. Saxon spearhead found in quarrying. Dated C7 to C9. West side of the upper incline at Titterstone Quarries a few yards down from its top, close to the west side <6d>
Scheduling revised in 1994. Scheduling description: ->
->The monument includes the remains of a slight univallate hillfort, and two ring-cairns which occupy a strong defensive position on the rounded summit of Titterstone Clee Hill. The hill itself is an imposing landmark formed by a basalt intrusion in the Carboniferous period. The archaeological remains which survive on the summit of Titterstone Clee provide evidence that the site was in use as a focus of ritual activity in the Bronze Age. By the Early Iron Age it had become a centre for habitation and a system of defences encircling the hilltop had been constructed. These substantial stone walls continued to be developed and modified throughout the occupation of the site, the final phase being the construction of elaborate entrance gates. The hillfort has maximum dimensions of 770m east to west by some 450m north to south, enclosing an area of 28ha and making it one of the largest hillforts in Shropshire even though it has been damaged along its southern side by modern quarrying. ->
-> Where the defences survive they follow the terrain and were designed to enhance the natural strategic advantages of the topography. The rampart today remains visible largely as a tumbled stone wall forming linear scree running around the north and east of the hill summit .. [Detailed description of the site and visible excavation trenches is given] .. ->
-> The 1934 excavations identified four phases of construction. In the first period a timber-revetted earth rampart was constructed with timber entrances. During period two the defences fell into disrepair and appeared to have been partly dismantled. Period three saw a rebuilding of the rampart in stone and a remodelling of the gateways, with the construction of two stone and timber guard chambers flanking the main south eastern entrance. There followed a period in which the fort continued to be inhabited but the defences fell into disrepair or were slighted. These phases can be dated by reference to dated features at other Marches hillforts to the period between the Late Bronze Age and the pre Roman Iron Age. In 1991, archaeological investigations were carried out to the east of the Civil Aviation Authority and Meteorological Office radar installations which demonstrated that the remains of walls and other features related to the occupation of the hillfort survive in its interior. Within the confines of the hillfort, in its western quarter on the highest point of the hill, are the remains of two cairns. The existence of the more northerly was first recorded by H H Lines in 1891 who described a cairn on the summit of Titterstone Clee 80 feet in diameter with exposed cists and surmounted by a modern OS triangulation cairn. Today this structure remains visible as a low stony mound 10m in diameter and 0.6m high, still surmounted by a modern OS trig pillar which is included within the scheduling. A portion of stony bank 3.5m wide and 0.5m high curves around the west side of the central mound. This may once have formed a complete circle 28m in diameter, however the whole eastern half of the circle has been removed. Loose stone piled against the inner edge of the bank in the north east quarter may represent the site of a cist. The remains suggest that it should be classed as a ring cairn, a comparatively rare type of cairn in Shropshire.->
-> Some 80m to the south east is a second cairn truncated along its south western edge by old linear surface quarrying, it survives as a flat topped and well defined mound 23m in diameter and 0.8m high. Turf-fast dolerite blocks protrude through the turf around the circumference of the mound to form a continuous stone kerb. O'Neil sectioned this structure in 1932 and describes it as a flat topped earthen circle comprising a ring of dolerite blocks packed in clay. Underlying the centre of the mound was a circular pit 1.3m in diameter, excavated 2.3m below the old ground surface. Today O'Neil's excavation trenches can be recognised as linear depressions lm wide and 0.2m deep. One orientated north west to south east, the other projecting at right angles from this to the truncated southern edge of the mound. This monument also represents a ring cairn. Both cairns are believed to date to the Bronze Age.->
->The radar installations, associated buildings and fences, all metalled surfaces and structures are excluded from the scheduling though the ground beneath each is included. ->
-> .. The rampart is unusual in its method of construction, making extensive use of drystone walling to create what remains today an impressive perimeter defence. The large size of the enclosed area, one of the largest hillfort interiors in Shropshire, indicates that the site was of considerable importance during its life. Excavations have demonstrated that the monument still retains many internal features .. <24>
Photographed during aerial photographic survey, between 2008 and 2010. <26>-<32>
In 1932 B. H. St J. O’Neil (<6b><6c>), then an Inspector of Ancient Monuments with the Ministry of Works, undertook an excavation in advance of an anticipated extension of the dolerite quarry on the south-western face of the hill. O’Neil cut five sections through the rampart, cleared the southern entrance and opened evaluation trenches across a ‘flat-topped circular mound’ on the summit of the hill (the latter almost certainly comprising a composite ring-cairn structure of probable Early Bronze Age date). The rampart proved to be of predominantly rubble construction, although near to the southern entrance a bank of earth and turf had been dumped against the rear of the rubble bank and may represent a later addition. The rubble bank appears to have been timber-revetted, and evidence for a drystone revetment was only found near the southern entrance. The entrance itself was found to be of two phases. The earliest comprised a series of postholes and slots that defined an entrance c.3m wide and 6m long, which is likely to have been associated with the timber-revetted phase of the main rampart. A deep in-turned entrance was subsequently constructed with dry-stone revetments and a pair of rectangular guard chambers at the end, set immediately behind a the post-holes of a timber built gateway. Remains of a hearth were found in the western chamber and two of the postholes within the guard chambers are reported to have contained the remains of timber posts. No finds were recovered. ->
-> The majority of O’Neil’s excavation trenches remain open and visible on the ground. ->
-> There are noticeable differences in the construction of the rampart around the northern side of the site. On the E and NE side a pronounced bank is present to the rear of the rampart, which is absent on the N side. The surviving section of the rampart between the two quarries comprises a turf covered stone bank c.1 – 1.5m high. As such, it is much slighter than the other sections of the rampart. ->
-> Part of the monument was destroyed by quarrying in the first half of the 20th century. There is some evidence for WWII activity on the summit, although its exact character is unknown. A civil and military aviation radar station was constructed within the hillfort in the second half of 20th century. <33>
A watching brief was carried out in 2013 on the south-eastern side of the Titterstone Clee Hill Iron Age hilltop enclosure, in association with trenching for electrical cabling at the National Air Traffic Systems installation. No archaeological finds or features were recorded. <34>
Six evaluation trenches were excavated within part of the interior of Titterstone Clee Hillfort, in 1991, in advance of the proposed construction of a new weather radar installation. Despite the limited area investigated, a series of deposits worthy of preservation in situ were identified, including a collapsed drystone wall (possibly a hut or stock enclosure), a series of postholes and laid stone surfaces. The report recommended that the radar installation was undertaken towards the eastern end of the evaluated area, which had been demonstrated to be archaeologically sterile. <35>
Excavation for a ladder base alongside the existing slab footing of a weather radar tower on Titterstone Clee Hill was monitored in March 2015. All the excavated ground was seen to have been previously disturbed in the early 1990s and no archaeological deposits, structures or finds were encountered. <36>
Visited during a condition survey by the English Heritage Field Monument Warden, in 1999. Condition recorded as generally satisfactory, with minor sheep erosion and past damage from unauthorised work to installations. <37>
A project proposal was prepared in 2003 for an interpretative project based on Titterstone Clee. This includes background research into sites on the hill. The large univallate hillfort is noted, encompassing 18.6 hectares. It is formed from native dolerite boulders collected or quarried from the hillside, transported and piled to form a monumental wall. Now collapsed and damaged by later quarrying around its south side, the hillfort rampart was investigated in the 1920s [sic - surely mean the 1930s? <39>] but no firm date was determined. However, it seems likely, both from the length of the rampart and its relatively week siting, that the hillfort may have had a ceremonial or religious function rather than a defensive one. <38>
A series of photographs and correspondance were received from Phil Cawood with regard to Titterstone Clee in January 2016. Photographs submitted were suggested as showing 'cup marked' stones although the nature of the evidence was noted as equivocal, and they could relate to mining activity. Photographs were also submitted of stones incised with linear depressions, although this could be the result of weathering. Also submitted to the HER were a series of photographs which showed some dry-stone walling forming part of the 'rampart' of the hillfort. <40>
A walkover survey of the hillfort was undertaken 2005-2007 during the preparation of a Conservation Management plan for the Clee Hills. This provides a detailed description of the surviving features of the hillfort identified during walkover survey, discussion and interpretation of the features and makes a series of management recommendations. Refer to source for full details. Includes photographs showing locations of O'Neill's trenches. <41>
Photographed during aerial survey in 2019. <42> - Record Type: Monument
- Sources:
(00) Card index: Shropshire County Council SMR. Site and Monuments Record (SMR) cards. SMR record cards. SMR Card for PRN SA 00427. (01) Card index: Ordnance Survey. 1968. Ordnance Survey Record Card SO57NE4. Ordnance Survey record cards. SO57NE4. (02) Card index: Ordnance Survey. 1976. Ordnance Survey Record Card SO57NE6. Ordnance Survey record cards. SO57NE6. (03) Oblique aerial photograph: Livock G E. Oblique View, NMR SO5978/1. Black and white. (04) Oblique aerial photograph: Livock G E. 1938. Oblique View, NMR SO5977/3. Black and white. (05) Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1988-Mar-04. CPAT 88/03/0019. (06) Field Monument Warden Report: Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission (HBMC). 1986. Scheduled Monument Report on SAM 26435. (06a) Volume: Victoria County History. 1908. Victoria County History 1. Victoria County History of Shropshire. Vol 1. p371. (06b) Article in serial: Lines H H. 1891. Article in the Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society. Trans Shropshire Archaeol Hist Soc. Ser 2, Vol III (=Vol 14). p13-18. p13-16 (plan of entrance). (06c) Article in serial: O'Neil B J StJ. 1934. Excavations at Titterstone Clee Hill Camp, Shropshire, 1932. Archaeologia Cambrensis. Vol 89. p83-111. (06d) Article in serial: O'Neil B J StJ. 1934. Excavations at Titterstone Clee Hill Camp, Shropshire, 1932. Antiq J. Vol 14. p13-32. (07) Monograph: Hartshorne C H. 1841. Salopia Antiqua. p23-29. (08) Field recording form: Tyler Alan W. 1981-Feb-18. Site Visit Form, 18/02/1981. SMR site visit form. (09) Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1988-Mar-04. CPAT 88/MB/0047 to 0051 (5 photos). Black and White. Medium. (10) Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1988-Mar-04. CPAT 88/MB/0052 to 0056 (5 photos). Black and White. Medium. (11) Photograph: Watson Michael D. 1986. Titterstone Clee Hillfort Plan. Colour. (12) Photograph: Watson Michael D. 1988. CPAT 88/C/0006. Colour. (13) Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1988-Mar-04. CPAT 88/C/0007. Colour. 35mm. (14) Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1992-May-06. CPAT 92/MB/0531 to 0532 (2 photos). Black and White. Medium. (15) Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1992-May-15. CPAT 92/MB/0608 to 0610 (3 photos). Black and White. Medium. (16) Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1992-May-06. CPAT 92/C/0843. Colour. 35mm. (17) Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1992-May-15. CPAT 92/C/0907 to 0911 (5 photos). Colour. 35mm. (18) Oblique aerial photograph: Musson Chris R. 1992-May-15. CPAT 92/MC15/0015. Colour. Medium. (19) Correspondence: English Heritage. 1989/ 1990. Correspondence, 1989-1990. (20) Scheduled Monument notification: English Heritage. 1986. Scheduling Papers (Revised Scheduling, 28/04/1986). Salop 25. (23) Photograph: Tyler Alan W. 1981-Feb. Titterstone Clee. Black and white. 35mm. (24) Scheduled Monument notification: English Heritage. 1994. Scheduling Papers (Revised Scheduling, 17/05/1994). 19139. (25) Monograph: Watson Michael D. 2002. Shropshire An Archaeological Guide. p32-33. (26) Oblique aerial photograph: Shropshire Council. 2008-Jan-30. SA0802_277 to SA0802_278 (2 photos) Flight: 08_SA_02. Colour. Digital. (27) Oblique aerial photograph: Shropshire Council. 2010-Mar-8. SA1005_191 (1 photo) Flight: 10_SA_05. Colour. Digital. (28) Oblique aerial photograph: Shropshire Council. 2010-Mar-8. SA1005_179 to SA1005_181 (3 photos) Flight: 10_SA_05. Colour. Digital. (29) Oblique aerial photograph: Shropshire Council. 2010-Mar-2. SA1003_234 to SA1003_235 (2 photos) Flight: 10_SA_03. Colour. Digital. (30) Oblique aerial photograph: Shropshire Council. 2010-Mar-2. SA1003_237 to SA1003_238 (2 photos) Flight: 10_SA_03. Colour. Digital. (31) Oblique aerial photograph: Shropshire Council. 2010-Mar-2. SA1003_243 to SA1003_247 (5 photos) Flight: 10_SA_03. Colour. Digital. (32) Oblique aerial photograph: Shropshire Council. 2010-Mar-8. SA1005_194 to SA1005_195 (2 photos) Flight: 10_SA_05. Colour. Digital. (33) Archaeological fieldwork report: Dorling P & Wigley A. 2012. Assessment of the archaeological and conservation status of major later prehistoric enclosures in Herefordshire and Shropshire. pp.30, 232-233. (34) Watching brief report: Anon. 2013. National Air Traffic Systems (NATS): archaeological watching brief. SLR rep. 406.01805.00002. (35) Excavation report: Jones A. 1991. Titterstone Clee Hillfort, Bitterley, Shropshire: an archaeological evaluation. BUFAU Rep. 165. (36) Watching brief report: Baker Nigel J. 2015. Report on an archaeological watching-brief on Titterstone Clee Hill, Shropshire, March 2015. Nigel Baker Rep. (37) Field survey report: Leigh Judith. 2001. Scheduled Ancient Monuments in the Shropshire Hills ESA: Brief Condition Survey. (38) Event report: Barratt G and White R. 2003?. The Titterstone Clee Project: a hill through time [Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund Grant Proposal]. p.6. (39) SMR comment: Carey Giles. 2014 onwards. Comments by Giles Carey, HER compiler in HER database. 30/11/2015. (40) Correspondence: Cawood P. 2016-Jan. Correspondance and photographs with Phil Cawood concerning Titterstone Clee. Carey G. (41) Management report: Ironbridge Institute. 2007. A conservation plan for the historic mining and quarrying landscape of the Clee Hills, South Shropshire. PN 3844. Vol. 2, pp.2-17; Site TCR P101. (42) Oblique aerial photograph: Shropshire Council. 2019-Jul-25. SA1902_091 to SA1902_092 (2 photos) Flight: 19_SA_02. Colour. Digital. - Tags:
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- For more information contact: Shropshire Council HER
- Date Created: 28/08/1996
- Date Last Edited: 31/07/2019 15:06:49
