Hunsbury Hill
(Danes Camp)
The site
of the earliest known settlement in Northampton, Hunsbury Hill was
an Iron age hill fort. With vast quantities of iron in the ground
this fort would have been ideal as a trading post. Weapons and
jewellery would have been its main survival. It's now believed to
have been built sometime 2-2500 years ago and some sources believe
it to be as old as 400 years BC.
Circular in structure, it used banks and ditches as it's main
protection from invaders. The inner earthworks is about 4mtrs high
and has a circumference of over 500 mtrs. A deep ditch still exists
today along with a few vitrified timbers. The wall inside of the
ditch is thought to have been mostly rubble and clay construction
that was reinforced with strong timber posts and rails supporting a
timber stockade.
The remaining posts show that the fort was subjected to an
extremely intense fire at some stage, the reason unknown. Maybe the
fort became a huge funeral pyre for the celtic chieftain on his
death or was it simply from a raid or attack? Some of the unearthed
relics suggest that at some time, it had a religious significance.
The number 3 was a sacred number to Iron age dwellers and skulls
were found with three holes in them.
This camp is in a very vulnerable position and is gradually being
eroded away. Not by the weather or time but by the local vandals
who just don't realise the importance of the site.
