The Trundle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Trundle |
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Rampart, ditch, and bank of the Trundle Iron Age hillfort
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| Location | The Trundle in West Sussex, England |
| OS grid reference | SU87771103 |
| Area | 5.66 ha (14.0 acres) |
| Built | Iron Age |
| Official name: The Trundle hillfort, causewayed enclosure and associated remains at St Roche's Hill | |
| Designated | 23 February 1933 |
| Reference no. | 1018034 |
The Trundle is an Iron Age hillfort on St Roche's Hill about 4 miles (6 km) north of Chichester, West Sussex, England, built on the site of a causewayed enclosure, a form of early Neolithic earthwork found in northwestern Europe. Causewayed enclosures were built in England from shortly before 3700 BC until at least 3500 BC; they are characterized by the full or partial enclosure of an area with ditches that are interrupted by gaps, or causeways. Their purpose is not known; they may have been settlements, meeting places, or ritual sites. Hillforts were built as early as 1000 BC, in the Late Bronze Age, and continued to be built through the Iron Age until shortly before the Roman occupation. A chapel dedicated to St Roche was built on the hill around the end of the 14th century; it was in ruins by 1570. A windmill and a beacon were subsequently built on the hill. The site was occasionally used as a meeting place in the post-medieval period.
The hillfort is still a substantial earthwork, but the Neolithic site was unknown until 1925 when archaeologist O.G.S. Crawford obtained an aerial photograph of the Trundle, clearly showing additional structures inside the ramparts of the hillfort. Causewayed enclosures were new to archaeology at the time, with only five known by 1930, and the photograph persuaded archaeologist E. Cecil Curwen to excavate the site in 1928 and 1930. These early digs established a construction date of about 500 BC to 100 BC for the hillfort and proved the existence of the Neolithic site. In 2011, the Gathering Time project published an analysis of radiocarbon dates from almost forty British causewayed enclosures, including some from the Trundle. The conclusion was that the Neolithic part of the site was probably constructed no earlier than the mid-fourth millennium BC. A review of the site in 1995 by Alastair Oswald noted the presence of fifteen possible Iron Age house platforms within the hillfort's ramparts.
History
St Roche's Hill (elevation 675 feet (206 m)) has been used for several purposes, dating back to the Palaeolithic era. The hill fort was a Neolithic causewayed enclosure before the Iron Age hill fort was built around the pre-existing structure.
In 1645 the site was used by the Clubmen as a military base and subsequently as a beacon site to warn against attack by the French. This beacon was lit in 1745, causing much alarm in the surrounding countryside.
The hill was also the site of a small (around 11 ft × 14 ft (3.4 m × 4.3 m)) chapel, until it was left to ruin. It is thought the chapel was built at some point in the 15th century and destroyed during the Reformation. A windmill was also present on the site of the hill-fort. It is not known when it was built, but in 1773, the windmill burnt down in a storm, along with a windmill on Portsdown Hill.
In World War II, it was the site for a radar early warning system. The summit of St Roche's Hill is now the site of two large radio masts.
The Trundle's northeast slope is a viewing area for Goodwood Racecourse and the top of the hill offers panoramic views of parts of Sussex, Hampshire and the English Channel beyond. On a clear day it is possible to see the Seven Sisters cliffs including Beach Head over 45 miles away. In June/July 2010, The Trundle was temporary host to 'Artemis', a 30 ft tall bronze sculpture of a horse designed by sculptor Nic Fiddian-Green. The sculpture was taken to Australia in 2011.
Archaeological excavations
During archaeological excavations (1928–1930, 1975, 1980, 1987, 1989 and 1994–95) of the hill fort, numerous objects have been discovered: Middle Iron-Age pottery, potboilers, human bones (an arm bone and a skull), animal bones (ox, horse, pig, dog, cat and sheep), charcoal, various iron objects (including a knife, a spearhead, an adze blade, a sickle, large iron rings and iron slag) and several quern-stone fragments.
Images for kids
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3D view of the digital terrain model
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T. King's 1839 drawing of the hillfort
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The areas excavated by Curwen in 1928 are shown in black. P1 to P6 are the six pits investigated that year; ID, 2D, and SD stand for inner, second, and spiral ditch respectively. CI to CIV stand for cuttings I to IV. TT-1 was an extension of ID-CI. Areas in green were excavated in 1930, including pits P7 to P9.
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Plan of the 1930 excavations at the east entrance to the hillfort. The grey area represents the hillfort ramparts; the area inside the dashed lines was cleared down to the chalk, and the pits and holes in the chalk marked on the plan were excavated.
See also
In Spanish: The Trundle para niños
