Much of this originally circular monument was destroyed by chalk quarrying in the late 19th to mid 20th centuries, during which time a series of excavations was conducted, largely under the auspices of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society. War Ditches is a large enclosure, lying on a spur of the Gog Magog hills to the south of Cambridge. The conclusions place Burgh into context within Iron Age Suffolk, and discuss later settlement history based on the supposition that it became the centre of a Saxon estate.Įvidence for Iron Age flintworing at War Ditches. These reflect the high status of the enclosure. The excavations discovered a selection of important finds, which included a good sequence of pottery, from the hand-made Iron Age wares to the Belgic wheel thrown wares, along with many Gallo-Belgic imports. However, the enclosure was used well into the 4th century, as the centre of a villa estate.

This was occupied, either by an official or a noble until it was partly flattened about 60 AD. An inner enclosure of 1 hectare, was built in the north-west corner, probably just before the Conquest. It was probably built in the 1st century BC as a minor oppidum - the regional centre and seat of a local chieftain with market, administrative and religious functions. The enclosure is bivallate, roughly rectangular and encloses 7 hectares. This report brings together the results of three periods of excavation, 1900–1901, 1947–1957, and 1975. Only two other sites in the county are broadly comparable, Barnham and Clare Camp, but the latter is not definitely Iron Age. Burgh is the largest Iron Age fortification in Suffolk, still visible at ground level.

Tr157 soft keygens club