 Ramparts inside Hembury hillfort | |
  Hembury Fort Shown within Devon | |
| Location | Hembury,Devon |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°49′14″N03°15′41″W / 50.82056°N 3.26139°W /50.82056; -3.26139 |
| Type | Hillfort |
| History | |
| Periods | Neolithic,Iron Age,Roman |
| Site notes | |
| Ownership | Devon Archaeological Society |
| Public access | Yes |
| Website | http://www.hemburyfort.co.uk |
| Official name | Hembury Fort |
| Designated | 9 October 1981 |
| Reference no. | 1018850 |
Hembury is aNeolithiccausewayed enclosure andIron Agehillfort nearHoniton inDevon. Its history stretches from the late fifth and early fourth millennia BC to theRoman invasion. The fort is situated on a south facing promontory at the end of a 240m high ridge in theBlackdown Hills. It lies to the north of and overlooking theRiver Otter valley and this location was probably chosen to give good views of the surrounding countryside as well as for defensive reasons.[2] The Devon Archaeological Society bought the hillfort in 2022.[3]
Originally a Neolithic site, an Iron Age hill fort was later built on the same site.[4]
It was excavated between 1930 and 1935 byDorothy Liddell. She identified a timber framed entrance to the causewayed enclosure and an oval arrangement ofpostholes in the middle which she interpreted as being a building destroyed by fire before the enclosure earthworks were built. Other evidence of Neolithic occupation includedpottery,flints,axes,querns and charred grain.[5]
During an excavation in the 1980s headed byMalcolm Todd, archaeological evidence was found on the site ofRoman military occupation, suggesting afort within the existing Iron Age site.[6]
The site has given its name to some of the earliestNeolithic pottery in southernBritain after a large collection of pieces of this type of pottery were found during excavations by Dorothy Liddell.[7]Hembury ware pottery was generally characterised by round bottomed bowls withlug handles. Much of it was made further west, aroundThe Lizard usingGabbroic clay and it was traded throughout theBritish Isles. It was made at the end of the fifth millennium BCE and early 4th millennium BCE.[8] Several pieces of Hembury ware Gabbro pottery are on display in theRoyal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter, Devon.[9]
