Monument record MDO4724 - Spettisbury Rings also called Crawford Castle, Spetisbury

An Iron Age hillfort on the northern end of a spur. The enclosure consists of a single rampart and ditch with an entrance on the north west. In 1972 the best preserved part of the rampart was described as standing 15 feet above the interior and 25 feet above the ditch bottom. The form of the earthworks and very limited excavation in 1958 suggest that the fort was being re-built in its later stages, and that this work was not completed. The north-eastern part of the ramparts was disturbed by construction of a railway cutting in 1857. This exposed the filling of the ditch, within which was what was interpreted as a mass grave. At least 80 skeletons were removed on this occasion, and the following year at least 40 more were removed from somewhere in the vicinity, though their exact location was not recorded. Objects recovered from the grave are said to have included iron spear-heads and sword, a bronze cauldron and bucket handles, as well as personal ornaments such as rings and brooches. The hillfort is visible as earthworks on lidar imagery and was digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour Catchment AI&M Project.

(ST 91490196) Crawford Castle or Spettisbury Rings
(NAT) Fort (NR). (8)

Spetisbury Rings, also called Crawford Castle, is a univallate hillfort of 5 acres, apparently unfinished in its final phase. To the E of the entrance, near the railway cutting, the rampart comprises an outward-falling scarp, which rises in a series of steps as it approaches the entrance and changes into a bank that stands 7 ft high above the interior. To the S of the entrance the rampart runs evenly for 150 ft to a point where two mounds or dumps lie on top of it. Beyond this point it continues at a height equal with that of the mounds, to reach its maximum elevation at the S angle of the fort, where it stands 25 ft above the ditch bottom and 15 ft above the interior. The rampart then gradually loses height as it proceeds NE to the railway cutting. The ditch has been entirely filled in on the N and elsewhere it has been partly filled in. It measures up to 45 ft across and from 4 ft to 7 ft in depth, and a small cutting made in 1958 at the SW angle has shown, almost certainly, that it was originally V-shaped in profile.

The entrance is a simple gap on the NW, with the ends of the banks slightly everted. A disturbed earthen pile into which the eastern arm runs probably represents the remains of a hornwork. The interior has been much ploughed and the only visible ancient remains are part of the open field system of Crawford Magna. The construction of the railway cutting in 1857 exposed, within the filling of the ditch, a mass grave from which at least 80 skeletons were recovered. Some 40 more skeletons were found in the following year but their precise location was unrecorded. Objects from the grave included iron spear-heads, an iron sword, a twisted iron torque, two bronze chapes, currency bars, a bronze cauldron, bucket handles, spiral finger rings, and two brooches (La Tene II and III). A fragment of Roman shield binding, and the fact that at least two of the bodies came to a violent end, suggests that the occupants of the grave were victims of the advancing Roman army; hence the grave may be comparable with the 'War cemetery' at Maiden Castle. The uncompleted strengthening of the defences is presumably associated with the Roman advance. (2-7)

Two parallel balks can be seen within the hillfort. Age and purpose are not readily apparent from visual inspection but they are possibly a building platform. Generally, the hillfort is in a good state of preservation. (1, 5)

ST 915 020. Spettisbury Rings (Crawford Castle). Listed in gazetteer as a univallate hillfort covering 2.0ha. (9)

An Iron Age hillfort on the northern end of a spur. The enclosure consists of a single rampart and ditch with an entrance on the north west. In 1972 the best preserved part of the rampart was described as standing 15 feet above the interior and 25 feet above the ditch bottom. The form of the earthworks and very limited excavation in 1958 suggest that the fort was being re-built in its later stages, and that this work was not completed. The north-eastern part of the ramparts was disturbed by construction of a railway cutting in 1857. This exposed the filling of the ditch, within which was what was interpreted as a mass grave. At least 80 skeletons were removed on this occasion, and the following year at least 40 more were removed from somewhere in the vicinity, though their exact location was not recorded. Objects recovered from the grave are said to have included iron spear-heads and sword, a bronze cauldron and bucket handles, as well as personal ornaments such as rings and brooches.
The hillfort is visible as earthworks on lidar imagery and was digitally plotted during the Dorset Middle Stour Catchment AI&M Project (11).

Stewart, D, 2013, Spettisbury Rings (also known as Crawford Castle). A Geophysical Survey (Unpublished document). SDO21400.

<1> St Joseph, J K, St Joseph AQ 28, Crawford 11S 291V 17-JULY-28 (Aerial Photograph). SDO19414.

<2> Royal Archaeological Institute, 1939, Archaeological Journal 96, 114-131 (Serial). SDO20026.

C A Gresham

<3> Royal Archaeological Institute, 1940, Archaeological Journal 97, 112-114 (Serial). SDO20027.

C F C Hawkes

<4> Prehistoric Society, 1958, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 24, 106-112 (Serial). SDO20028.

J Brailsford

<5> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, 11-NOV-54 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

F1 NVQ 11-NOV-54

<6> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1959, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1958, 108 (Serial). SDO58.

<7> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume III (Central) Part 2, 246 (Monograph). SDO136.

‘(30) SPETISBURY RINGS, also called CRAWFORD CASTLE (915020), is a univallate hill-fort of 5 acres, with a single entrance at the N.W., probably once screened by a hornwork; in its final phase the fort appears to remain unfinished. The hill-fort (Plate 200) is between 190 ft. and 255 ft. above O.D.; it lies at the N. end of a prominent spur, on a gentle slope facing N. and E. and overlooking the village and the R. Stour, only 100 yds. away. To the S., the rampart reaches the summit of the spur and provides a wide field of vision, except immediately in front where there is 'dead' ground within 70 yds. On the E. side of the fort the defences were partly destroyed in the construction of a railway cutting in 1857, when numerous skeletons were found in the ditch filling. No systematic excavation of the fort has been carried out, but in 1958 a small cutting was made to determine the character of the ditch (Dorset Procs. LXXX (1958), 108).
That the defences were unfinished is suggested by the rampart. To the E. of the entrance, near the railway cutting, the rampart comprises an outward-falling scarp, which rises in a series of steps as it approaches the entrance and changes into a bank that stands 7 ft. high above the interior. To the S. of the entrance the rampart runs evenly for 150 ft. to a point where two mounds or dumps lie on top of it (see Plate 200); beyond this point the rampart continues for some distance at a height equal with that of the mounds, and it reaches its maximum elevation at the S. angle of the fort, where the rampart stands 25 ft. above the ditch bottom and 15 ft. above the interior. The rampart then gradually loses height as it proceeds north-eastwards to the railway cutting. The ditch has been entirely filled in on the N. and elsewhere it has been partly filled in; its flat bottom has been ploughed; it measures up to 45 ft. across and from 4 ft. to 7 ft. in depth. Excavation at the S.W. angle has shown, almost certainly, that the ditch was originally V-shaped in profile.
The entrance is a simple gap on the N.W., with the ends of the banks slightly everted. A disturbed earthen pile into which the eastern arm runs probably represents the remains of a hornwork. The interior has been much ploughed and the only visible ancient remains are part of the open fields of Crawford Magna (29).
The railway cutting of 1857 exposed, within the filling of the ditch, a mass grave from which at least 80 skeletons were recovered. At least 40 more skeletons were found in the following year but their precise location was unrecorded. Objects from the grave included iron spear-heads, an iron sword, a twisted iron torque, two bronze chapes, currency bars, a bronze cauldron, bucket handles, spiral finger rings, and two brooches (La Tène II and III). A fragment of Roman shield binding, and the fact that at least two of the bodies came to a violent end, suggests that the occupants of the grave were victims of the advancing Roman army; hence the grave may be comparable with the 'war-cemetery' at Maiden Castle (Dorset II, 497). The uncompleted strengthening of the defences is presumably associated with the Roman advance. (Arch. J. XCVI (1939), 114–131; XCVII (1940), 112–4; P.P.S. XXIV (1958), 106, 112).’

<8> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey 1:10,000 scale map, 1978 (Map). SDO17396.

<9> Hogg, A H A, 1979, British hillforts: an index, 205 (Monograph). SDO17414.

<10> Lock, G, and Ralston, I, 2017, Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland [ONLINE], EN3607 (Digital archive). SDO17130.

<11> Environment Agency, 16-NOV-2021, LIDAR Environment Agency DTM (Aerial Photograph). SDO18034.

<13> National Record of the Historic Environment, 209638 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 7 2025 1:34PM