Bausley Hill Camp

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the scheduled monument.

The monument comprises the remains of a hillfort, which probably dates to the Iron Age period (c. 800 BC - AD 74, the Roman conquest of Wales). Hillforts are usually located on hilltops and surrounded by a single or multiple earthworks of massive proportions. Hillforts must have formed symbols of power within the landscape, while their function may have had as much to do with ostentation and display as defence. This is a small hillfort situated on a naturally steep-sided hill. Defence on south and east sides is formed by the steep natural cliff with a modern quarry cut into NE end of the slope. Defences on west and north-west sides are multivallate and are especially complex at the northern angle where they are fourfold. Some of the banks and ditches appear to be scarps and berms. The entrance is simple and is situated in the SW side. The defences on the north and west sides are divided by the track leading to Bausley Hill Farm

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of later prehistoric defensive organisation and settlement. The site forms an important element within the wider later prehistoric context and within the surrounding landscape. The site is well preserved and retains considerable archaeological potential. There is a strong probability of the presence of evidence relating to chronology, building techniques and functional detail.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.