Yeavering Bell

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Coordinates: 55°33′25″N 2°06′50″W / 55.557°N 2.114°W / 55.557; -2.114<th scope="row" style="text-align:left;"FONT-WEIGHT: bold;";">OS grid reference
Yeavering Bell

<div style=""font-size:small;";">View north-northeast from Yeavering Bell
Yeavering Bell

 Yeavering Bell shown within Northumberland
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List of places: UK • England • Northumberland

The Yeavering Bell is a twin-peaked hill near the River Glen in Northumberland, England, and forming part of the Cheviot Hills. The hill, 361 metres above sea level, is encircled by the wall of a late-prehistoric hillfort, a tribal centre of the Votadini called in Brythonic and Old Welsh Din Gefron, from which the name stems (Old English *geafringa-)

The hill fort encloses an area of approximately 12 acres (4.9 ha) and is enclosed by a stone wall, upwards of 10 ft (3.0 m) thick, having four entrances into it, one of which is defended by a guard-house; and within this area is an inner fort, excavated out of the rock, of an oval form, measuring 13 ft (4.0 m) across at the widest part. On the sides of the hill, and in a high valley between the Bell and the next hill, called Whitelaw, there are many remains of stone huts rudely flagged, some in groups surrounded by rampiers, and others isolated. Barrows, too, are numerous here.[1]

The hillfort enclosure was constructed in two phases, according to a survey by English Heritage.[2] The 'roundhouses' within the fort suggests communal living but these need not all have been dwellings. The differing size of these buildings may have indicated the status of their original occupants.

The buildings of the hillfort would have been bright pink when first constructed, being made from local andesite. This stone is pink when quarried and turns, after a few years’ exposure to the elements, to a dull grey.

See also

External links

Bibliography

  • Oswald A and Pearson S (2005) Yeavering Bell Hillfort. 98-126 in Frodsham and O’Brien.
  • Pearson S (1998) Yeavering Bell Hillfort, Northumberland. English Heritage: Archaeological Investigation Report Series AI/3/2001.
  • W & R Chambers (1869), the Book of Days, December 17

References

  1. ↑ W&R Chambers
  2. ↑ "Northumberland National Park Website page for Yeavering Bell". Retrieved 7 January 2012. 
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