Ambresbury Banks
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Ambresbury Banks is the name given to the remains of an Iron Age hill fort in Epping Forest, Essex, England. It lies in 'Long Running & Ambresbury Banks', south of Bell Common and north of Loughton and its neighbouring hillfort Loughton Camp.[1] It is a Scheduled Monument.[2] Its surrounding forest is a Special Area of Conservation[3] and Site of Special Scientific Interest.[4]
Investigation
[edit]The first dig at Ambresbury Banks was initiated by the Essex Field Club in 1881, under general Augustus Pitt Rivers.[5] Another dig under Hazzeldine Warren in 1933 found sherds of pottery.[6] In 1971 & 2 Iron Age gold coins were found near the Banks using a metal detector.[7] Flints and an arrowhead have also been found at the site[8][9] Materials including a clay smoking pipe and a horseshoe have been recovered at the site.[10]
Description
[edit]The univallate fort encloses an area of roughly 5 hectares.[2] In the Middle Ages it was "used for quarrying".[10]
Legend
[edit]According to legend, it is the site of the last stand by Boudica against the Romans in the year 61.[citation needed] There is no evidence to support this.[citation needed] Another legend contends that the construction and name derive from the fifth-century hero Ambrosius Aurelianus, so contradicting the supposed connection to the first-century battle;[11] other theories for the location of the battlefield include Mancetter in Warwickshire and Kings Cross in London.[12] Nevertheless, Ambresbury Banks forms, along with Loughton Camp, Wallbury Camp, Little Hadham, Barkway and Littlebury, a line of hill-forts that arguably delineate the disputed territories of the warring Trinovantes and Catuvellauni.[13]
Access to the site
[edit]In June 2006 Loughton Camp, Loughton Brook, and Ambresbury Banks were "designated as out of bounds to cyclists" due to damage to the sites.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ "Appendix" (PDF). City of London. Archived from the original on 6 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ a b "Ambresbury Banks slight univallate hillfort, Epping Upland - 1013517 | Historic England". Historic England. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Epping Forest - Special Areas of Conservation". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Citation of Epping Forest SSSI" (PDF). Natural England. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ ALEXANDER, J. A.; COTTON, M. AYLWIN; MACKAY, R. ROBERTSON; WARREN, S. HAZZLEDINE (1978). "Ambresbury Banks, an Iron Age Camp in Epping Forest, Essex: a report on excavations of 1933, 1956, 1958 and 1968". Essex Archaeology and History (Transactions). 3. 10. Essex Society for Archaeology and History: 191.
- ^ "Ambresbury Banks". Heritage Gateway. Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Monument Number 369904". Heritage Gateway. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Signpost - Ambresbury, Essex" (PDF). The Prehistoric Society. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
- ^ "Ambresbury Banks". Heritage Gateway. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ a b "Ambresbury Banks". Heritage Gateway. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ Cowper, Benjamin Harris (1876). "Ancient Earthworks in Epping Forest". The Archaeological Journal. 33: 246–248.
- ^ Webster, Graham (1978). Boudica : the British revolt against Rome AD 60 (1993 ed.). London: Routledge. pp. 17, 111. ISBN 9780415226066.
- ^ Ellis, Peter Berresford A Guide to Early Celtic Remains in Britain. London: Constable. 1991
- ^ "City of London acts to protect ancient trees". City of London. 18 June 2006. Archived from the original on 18 June 2006. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
51°41′01″N 0°04′42″E / 51.6835°N 0.0784°E