Hascombe Hill facts for kids
Hascombe Hill is a special place in Surrey, England. It's also called Hascombe Camp. Long ago, during the Iron Age, people built a strong fort here. This fort was a type of hill fort with many layers of defenses.
Contents
Discovering Hascombe Hill's Past
Unearthing Ancient Secrets
In 1931, a person named S. E. Winbolt dug up parts of Hascombe Hill. This is called an excavation. He found out that people lived here around the 1st century BC. That was over 2,000 years ago!
Exploring the Iron Age Fort
The hill fort covers a large area of about 2.4 hectares (almost 6 acres). It's a very wooded spot. The sides of the hill are naturally very steep. This made it hard for enemies to attack. The people living there made the top edges even steeper. This made the fort almost impossible to climb.
Around the top of the hill, there was a defensive ditch. This ditch was about 1.5 meters (5 feet) deep. On the northeast side, where the hill connects to other land, the defenses were even stronger. There were big banks of earth called ramparts and more ditches. There was only one way into the fort. This entrance was about 24 meters (79 feet) long.
A Victorian Communication Hub
Later, in the early 1800s, Hascombe Hill became very important for communication. It was a naval telegraph station. This station used a mechanical system called semaphore. It sent messages using movable arms or flags.
This station was part of a chain of stations. They linked London all the way to Portsmouth. Hascombe Hill sent messages to Netley Heath in Surrey. It also sent messages to Blackdown in Sussex.
The Hill's Height
Hascombe Hill stands tall at 644 feet (196 meters).
Modern Stone Circle
In the 1990s, a group called the Modern Order of Druids built something new. They set up a stone circle. You can find it below the southeastern slopes of Hascombe Hill.
