Vespasian's Camp
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites* | |
|---|---|
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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| State Party |  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, iii |
| Reference | 373 |
| Region† | Europe and North America |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1986 (10th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO. |
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Vespasian's Camp is an Iron Age Hillfort in the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. It is located less than 2 miles from the older Neolithic and Bronze Age monument of Stonehenge and was built on a hill next to the Stonehenge Avenue.
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[edit] Etymology
Although the Roman general Vespasian campaigned through Wessex after the Roman invasion of Britain, there is no evidence to suggest he came to this hillfort or had any military base here. The name was given to the site by William Camden, who during the Elizabethan era toured the area and gave the hill its romanticised name. [1]
[edit] Context
The hillfort stands on the western fringe of Amesbury and borders the River Avon on its southern side, and the A303 on it's northern edge. It is inside the boundaries of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site inscribed in 1986, although it dates from a later era to the other monuments for which the site is famous. Several other hill-forts are located nearby, including Danebury Camp to the east, Sidbury Hill and Casterly Camp to the north, Yarnbury Camp to the west, and Figsbury Ring and Old Sarum to the south. Ogbury Camp 3 miles south may have been a satellite enclosure of Vespasian's Camp. From north to south the hill-fort is 730m in overall length and 374m wide at the southern end, narrowing to 100m wide at the northern end. It encloses an area of some 15 hectares. The bank is up to 40m wide and up to 6 metres high above the ditch bottom. The ditch is up to 10m wide with a low counterscarp bank up to 18m wide on the outside of the ditch, creating a maximum overall width of the hill-fort's defences of 68m. [2]
[edit] History
The hill on which Vespasian's Camp stands was used during the Neolithic era, as indicated by the Neolithic pits found near the centre. In the Bronze Age a barrow was built on the hill. Excavations suggest that the hill may have been part of the Stonehenge ritual landscape during this period. [3] The first building of the hillforts banks is believed to have occurred during the late Bronze Age (between 1100BC-800BC) with some later building in the early Iron Age (700BC-350BC). There appears to be an entrance on the northern and southern sides. Unlike most regular hillforts of the time, Vespasian's Camp has a somewhat unusual shape, appearing from above as an arrowhead. The southern banks are constructed with angled corners (possibly to take the shape of the hill alongside the Avon into account), which is not a common feature in most round hillforts in the south.
Excavations have revealed a metre thick layer of domestic waste that suggests the hill was heavily occupied after the banks were constructed. The absence of significant middle Iron Age finds suggests that the population on the hill had declined by then. [4]
A road came to be constructed over the hilltop in the middle ages, and now separates the southern corner from the rest of the fort. The A303 was cut through the northern section of the hill in the 1970's, just below the northernmost bank.
During the 18th Century the hillfort was landscaped as part of the Marquis of Queensbury's grounds around Amesbury Abbey. A grotto, vista and paths were constructed and substantial tree planting was carried out. [5]
