Ruborough Camp

Ruborough Camp is an Iron Age hill fort on the Quantock Hills near Broomfield in Somerset, England. The name comes from Rugan beorh or Ruwan-beorge meaning Rough Hill. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument[2] and on the Heritage at Risk Register.[3]

Ruborough Camp
Plan of earthworks at Ruborough Camp
LocationBroomfield, Somerset, England
Coordinates51°05′46″N 3°06′18″W
Area1.8 hectares (4.4 acres)
BuiltIron Age
Reference no.191142[1]
Location of Ruborough Camp in Somerset

Description

The hill fort is on an easterly spur from the main Quantock ridge, with steep natural slopes to the north and south-east. The fort is triangular in shape, with a single rampart and ditch (univallate), enclosing 1.8 hectares (4.4 acres). There is a linear outer work about 120 m away, parallel to the westerly rampart, enclosing another 1.8 ha.

There was a tunnel, which has now been filed in, which gave the camp safe access to a nearby spring for water.[4]

It was common for ancient hill forts to be reused as pens for domesticated animals in the Medieval period, and there is documentary evidence that Ruborough became a porcheria, or piggery, owned by the Saxon domain of Somerton.

See also

References
  • Dumnonia and the Valley of the Parret, Rev W.H.P.Greswell, 1922
  1. "Ruborough Camp". National Monuments Record. English Heritage. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
  2. "Ruborough Camp Hillfort". Digital Digging. Archived from the original on 11 August 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  3. "Ruborough Camp large univallate hillfort, Broomfield – Sedgemoor". Heritage at Risk. English Heritage. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  4. Waite, Vincent (1964). Portrait of the Quantocks. London: Robert Hale. ISBN 0-7091-1158-4.
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