Berry Camp facts for kids
Berry Camp, also known as Berry Cliff, is an ancient Hill fort from the Iron Age. It sits on top of a cliff near Branscombe in Devon, England. This spot is about 140 meters (460 feet) above the sea.
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What is Berry Camp?
Berry Camp is a special type of hill fort called a "promontory hillfort." This means it's built on a piece of land that sticks out, with cliffs on one or more sides. It's shaped like a rectangle and is found on a flat area near the cliff edge.
Where is Berry Camp Located?
You can find Berry Camp at Langham Field on Littlecombe Hill, part of Berry Cliff in Branscombe, Devon. This area is very important! It's part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, which is famous for its amazing fossils and geology. It's also a "Site of Special Scientific Interest," meaning it has rare plants, animals, or geological features.
How Old is Berry Camp?
This hill fort was built during the Iron Age. This period was a long time ago, roughly from 800 BC to AD 100 in Britain. People in the Iron Age used iron tools and built many hill forts across the landscape.
What Was Berry Camp Like?
Berry Camp was a "univallate hillfort." This means it had one main bank and ditch for defense. Today, the area is mostly used for grazing animals. However, some parts of the old defenses are hidden by thorny bushes.
The Defenses of Berry Camp
You can still see three sides of the defensive bank and ditch today. Sadly, some of the ditches have been filled in over time. Experts believe that the fourth side of the fort has been lost due to coastal erosion. This is when the sea slowly wears away the land.
The defenses might not look very strong now because they are quite damaged. They were built by piling up soil and flint stones that were dug out from the ditch. The inside of the fort is very flat because of farming in the past. This farming also wore down the inner parts of the defensive banks.
Originally, with a strong wooden fence (called a palisade) or a better-built bank, and a deeper ditch, Berry Camp would have been a good defense. It would have protected the people living inside from enemies.
