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Martinsell Hill, Oare, Pewsey, Wiltshire

One of the highest of Wiltshire’s prehistoric camps [hillforts]. Its name is believed to be a corruption of the name of a local tribal leader. It covers about thirty acres; the single vallum and ditch combined with its size indicate that it was built by the Britons but the opinion is that it was not permanently inhabited but used as a refuge as necessary. Its current condition is affected by a number of entrances cut through the ramparts to facilitate agriculture down the ages.

This a 'slight univallate hillfort' which are unusual with only 150 in the UK. They date from 8th - 5th centuries BC as either places of refuge or permanent settlements. They typically cover an area from 2.5 acres to 25 acres, with a single line of earthworks which generally include a rampart, a narrow level berm, an external ditch and a counterscarp bank with access by two entrances which may be either simple gaps in the earthwork or an inturned rampart. Pottery and other artefacts show extended use from the Iron Age to Romano-British period.

Much of the information about the sight comes from the partial excavation in 1819 by Hoare [Hoare, Richard Colt, The Ancient History of North Wiltshire, Lackington, Hughes, Mavor & Jones: London 1819]. The Martinsell Hill site is close to Avebury, Windmill Hill and other prehistoric tombs.

See also:  wikipedia.org/wiki/Martinsell_Hill

Notes:

Berm:               In fortifications  this is a narrow path or ledge between a moat and a rampart

Counterscarp:       The outer wall of a ditch in a fortification.