Borough Hill Camp, Berkshire
Borough Hill Camp hillfort (Berkshire) was a small (probable) Iron Age univallate enclosure of around 0.25 hectares (0.61 acres). Borough Hill Camp hasn’t really established itself in the literature, partly because of its size, and partly because it’s not entirely clear if it existed or not. Alwyn Cotton states that the banks and ditches could be clearly defined in 1837, presumably passing on the observations of its original discoverer, Dr. S Palmer (1). Palmer also mentioned Iron Age pottery being found at the site. Unfortunately there is no word of what happened to the finds, or indeed, the context in which they were found.
A field investigator for the Ordnance Survey writing in 1963 seems to be under the impression that the a combination of a field boundary and some sand diggings had mislead Dr. Palmer, and that it was unlikely to be a hillfort at all (2). The enclosure is recorded on the OS maps of 1890, 1912, 1960 and 1972/74, but disappears after this date. Now ignominiously referred to as ‘Monument No. 233581‘. One for the completist.
Location
OS map reference: SU 4398 7252. Nearest town/village: Newbury, 3.10 miles to the south east.
References
1. Aylwin Cotton, M. (1962). Berkshire Hill Forts. Berkshire Archaeological Journal: vol. 60: 30-52
2. Field Investigators Comments – F1 NVQ 13-AUG-63. Quoted at Pastscape.
