(NT 90182880) Camp. (1)

Hethpool Bell Camp: triangular in form, two of the sides are about 80 yards long and the third is about 50. It is situated on a rocky knoll, able to command the passage down the Elsdon Burn, and over the river below. There does not appear to be more than one line of rampart, which is (c.1867) in a ruined state. The ground rises rapidly on the north-west. (2)

An oval-shaped earthwork with single rampart enclosing approximately half an acre. (3)

Situated on the shoulder of a hill with steep slopes on all sides except the north-west where it is overlooked at close quarters.
An oval shaped enclosure, badly robbed, with a single bank of earth and stones varying from faint traces to a width of 6m and maximum height of 0.5m. The gap in the bank to the north-west is probably the original entrance. There is outcrop rock in the enclosed area but no trace of habitation.
The nearest water supply is the College Burn to the south and east. The situation and slight nature of the rampart indicates that its purpose was not defensive as suggested. There is no evidence for dating. (4)

Listed under pre-Roman Iron Age univallate (forts, settlements and enclosures). (5)

The construction of the enclosing feature, general form, and situation are all in the local Iron Age tradition. Revised at 6 inch scale. (6)

Mainly as described; a strong walled enclosure measuring about 70m north to south by 50m transversely though it is now much robbed and mutilated and in places barely discernible through the turf.
Although it is overlooked by higher ground to the north-west, it is in an otherwise excellent strategic position on a very steep-sided spur dominating the confluence of the College and Elsdon Burn valleys with clear views to at least six forts in the area (including NT 92 NW 31, 43, 62). Surveyed at 1:10,000. (7)

Settlement at the south end of the Bell, scheduled monument Northum 463. An oval enclosure, with diameter of approximately 150ft, formed by grass grown stone wall now 3ft high and 15ft broad. Signs of huts inside. (8)

The fort is visible on a series of aerial photographs. (9)

A full survey was carried out by English Heritage in 2000 at 1:500 scale. The enclosure lies on a shelf on Hethpool Bell and is oval in plan. No occupation evidence has been found but there is later activity on the site in the form of an animal pen and possible shelter and windbreak. The enclosure is believed likely to be prehistoric but it is uncertain whether it can be classified as a hillfort. The shelf on which the hillfort lies is a distinct feature of the profile of the hill when viewed from the south. It has been suggested that this prominent shelf and the hill symbolically guard the entry to the College Valley.
The enclosure is aligned almost north-south and measures 64m by 40m internally. It covers an area of 0.2ha. The rock outcrop, or shelf, bisects the enclosure giving it two levels; the upper (north) part is the triangular-shaped summit of the shelf, and the south part contains part of a lower terrace. The enclosure is almost symmetrical in plan along its north-south axis.
The enclosure is visible as a turf-covered stony bank that is best preserved on the south-west side where it stands 1.5m high and is up to 6m wide. Traces of the external face of the wall can be seen amongst the rubble spread and is made up of large angular blocks up to 0.5m long. There is no evidence of an internal wall face, but the bank probably measured up to 2.5m wide. Around the north-west side, the bank is less than 2m wide, possibly due to later robbing and construction of an animal pen, or it may never have been as substantial because of the difficult terrain.
An internal quarry ditch can be traced on all but the south-west side of the enclosure, although it may be obscured by vegetation. On average it measures less than 5m wide and 0.3m deep. There is evidence of quarrying at the rock outcrop on the south of the shelf. The entrance is believed to lie at the north end of the enclosure. A curving terminal on the probable east side coincides with the end of the quarry ditch. The west side is difficult to see because of later disturbance. It is suggested the entrance measured about 4m wide.
Later activity on the site includes a drystone wall across the west side of the site, stone robbing, a possible shelter and associated animal pens (see HER 29411). The animal pen overlies the north end of the enclosure bank. A small stone-walled windbreak has been built on the bank on the south-west side of the enclosure, either by walkers or those who built the drystone wall.
There are no archaeological features in the immediate vicinity of the enclosure. Two small mounds to the north may be clearance cairns, although this possibility is regarded as slight. A number of terraces on the hillside are probably natural.
The site is not regarded as a hillfort and the bank has not made optimum use of the defensive possibilities of the site. The entrance lies in a vulnerable position and no defensive features were found during the survey. There is also no proof the site was permanently occupied. The enclosure is unlike any other settlements in the area and this, together with a number of other features such as its symmetry and north-south axis which are not considered to be accidental, have led to the suggestion that it may have had a ritual or symbolic purpose. Although the site has been given an Iron Age date, there is little direct evidence to support this. The possible earlier origins of nearby hillforts may suggest a similarly early origin for this site. (10)

[NT 9020 2881] Fort [NR] (11a)

NT 903 288. Hethpool Bell. listed in gazetteer of British hillforts
as a univallate structure enclosing 0.20ha. (11b)

NT 902 288. Settlement at the south end of The Bell. Scheduled No ND/463. (11c)

NT 9020 2881. Between December 1999 and January 2000, English Heritage carried out a detailed field investigation of the enclosure following a request from the Northumberland National Park (Event record 1300646).

The monument is essentially as described by previous investigators. The stone-built enclosure is fairly well-preserved, and measures 64m by 40m internally, enclosing an area of 0.2ha. Although often referred to as an Iron Age univallate hillfort, it would be of extremely unusual form as such. The circuit is egg-shaped and perfectly symmetrical, but occupies a steep slope overlooked by much higher ground, and is divided across its middle by a natural cliff. Contrary to Source 6, while the position affords excellent long-distance views, the siting of the circuit leaves 'blind-spots' down all the adjacent slopes to the College Burn, which in addition to the fact that it is overlooked from such a short distance to the NW, makes it strategically poor. No trace of any structures was identified in the interior, and there is very little ground where structures could have been constructed. The field survey identified a single entrance at the 'pointed' end of the circuit; the gap at the mid-point of the broader end depicted by MacLauchlan (Source 1) and the partial gap on the NW identified by Source 4 almost certainly result from stone robbing. The enclosure is unquestionably prehistoric, but is not a hillfort in the normal sense of the term and potentially not Iron Age.

The enclosure has been subject to some small-scale modification in the medieval period or later (see NT 92 NW 111).

For further information, see the Level 3 report on the field investigation, which includes a full textual description and interpretation of the remains, copies of plans surveyed at various scales, selected photographs and interpretative drawings. The remainder of the archive material is also available through the NMR. (11d)

The site is clearly visible on a CUCAP aerial photograph. (11e)

The site has been mapped from the air as part of the Milfield Geoarchaeoloy Project. (See archive object MD000291) (11)

General assocation with HER 29411. (11)