(NT 86702891) Ring Chesters Camp (NR). (1)

'Elsdon Burn Camp' c.1867 It is oval, suited to the shape of the ground, the inner rampart being 70 yards by 50. The second, not equally distant all round, projects, with the third, towards the south, where the ground is favourable, and where the principle entrance appears to have been. Each opening is covered by the rampart within it to an extent greater than usual.
There are several foundations of circular dwellings within the camp. It is altogether in good preservation and must have been a strong post. Besides the opening on the south there is another, less conspicuous, on the north west. (2)

A contour-following defensive earthwork, consisting of triple ramparts enclosing an oval-shaped hill-top approx 60m north-south by 45m east-west.
The ramparts are of earth and stone, and stand one below the other against the steep sides of the hill. The inner rampart 0.2-0.3m high on the interior, and approx 2m above the top of the centre rampart, is widely-spread and appears to have been constructed principally of loose stones. The centre rampart, 0.2-0.3m high on the interior, stands 3m above the top of the outer rampart, and is of earth and stones. The outer rampart is 0.2-0.6m high on the interior, and approx 1m high on the exterior, and is of earth and stones. All ramparts are 4-5m in width. The inner rampart is mutilated on the west side, the stone being spread down the slopes. The middle rampart is mutilated and very fragmentary along the east and south-east sides. The outer rampart appears to be in good condition all round. There are traces of a ditch in places between the centre and outer ramparts. The main entrance is to the south-east and is staggered. The centre rampart is out-turned on the south side and in-turned on the north side of the gap. A narrower staggered entrance is to the north-west where the openings are well covered by the rampart within.
There is a hut circle in the north-east corner. There are slight traces of possible hut circles elsewhere. Other stones in the turf may be fragments of hut circles or may be natural outcrops. Nearest water supply is to the west. The strength and position of this earthwork suggest it to be of Iron Age construction. (3)

Listed under pre-Roman Iron Age multivallate, (forts, settlements and enclosures) with an overlying settlement of round stone huts. (4)

A well-preserved fort with indications of secondary occupation. Revised at 6 inch scale. (5)

Air photographs held in the NMRS are an excellent record of the hillfort and its environs. (6)

NT 866289. Ring Chesters Camp. Scheduled. (7)

Scheduled. (8)(9)

A multivallate hillfort, enclosed by three stone built ramparts with a staggered entrance on the south side, is visible on aerial photographs. In the interior more than six round houses are visible. The hillfort occupies a prominent position on a hilltop which bears evidence of at least two phases of agricultural use in the form of cultivation terraces or lynchets, and later rigg ploughing. The exact relationship between the hillfort and these terraces remains ambiguous. (10)

When the bivallate earthen defences were supplemented by a smaller, circular, stone-built circuit, a stretch of the inner of the earlier circuits seems to have been deliberately razed, suggesting that it went out of use, at least as a maintained defensive perimeter, when the new rampart was built. Opposed entrances through the earthen defences were replaced by a single gateway through the stone circuit, implying a major change in access, although a deflection in the inner circuit suggests that a timber round house in the interior continued to be used.
The change from timber to stone is demonstrated by a stone-founded building which sits eccentrically on the rock-cut platform created to support an earlier ring-groove round house. Traces of the ring-groove survive and measured 9m in internal diameter with a floor space of around 65m square, while the later building at 5.5m in internal diameter would have had a floor space of only 26m square. (11)

Field survey in 2001 produced plans of the monument at a scale of 1:500, and of the surrounding landscape at a scale of 1:2,500. The Iron Age hillfort is remarkably well preserved and comprises two concentric earthen ramparts and, within these, a smaller stone-built circuit. There is evidence that short stretches of all the circuits were rebuilt in the Romano-British period and all but three of the ten possible circular buildings recorded in the interior of the hillfort are probably of this date. Although no excavations have been recorded here the survey found traces of several possible excavation trenches, apparently placed so as to examine the ramparts and one of the circular structures in the interior. In the mid 1960s, a few enthusiasts were encouraged by Jobey's findings to undertake their own small-scale excavations and it is conceivable that the possible trenches date to this period.
The survey identified some evidence for a previously unrecognised enclosure underlying the innermost stone-built rampart of the hillfort. The two outermost circuits formed a bi-vallate Iron Age hillfort and are thought to be contemporary, although there is no conclusive proof they were built at the same time. The stone-built innermost circuit is a later development in the Iron Age. The fourth phase of the hillfort concerns the settlement remains inside: all the circular buildings, with the exception of one definite and two possible exceptions, are probably of Romano-British date; the exceptions are earlier circular timber buildings, or ring-groove structures. (12)

NT 8670 2890. Ring Chesters defended settlement. Scheduled RSM No 24575. An early Iron Age multivallate defended settlement contained within three concentric stone banks. The interior of the main enclosure contains the circular foundations of a number of stone built prehistoric buildings and evidence of earlier timber buildings. A series of well preserved cultivation terraces lie on the hill slope to the W and appear to be contemporary with it. However, as the full extent and nature of this field system is not yet fully understood, it is not included in the Scheduling.

The settlement covers an oval area c.0.35ha in extent, within the triple ramparts which extend the overall area to c.0.8ha. The ramparts follow the contours of the hill and are of earth and stone with clear outer stone revetments. The inner rampart is 4m-5m wide, c.0.3m high internally and c.2m above the top of the centre rampart. The base of the rampart is partly revetted by large boulders but is mostly constructed of loose small stones, some of which have spread down the hillslope on the W side. The middle rampart is 4m-5m wide, c.0.3m high and stands 3m above the top of the outer rampart. It has suffered some levelling on the E and SE sides but is otherwise very well preserved. This latter rampart is not equidistant from the inner rampart all the way round; the N, E and W sides are c.6m from the outer face of the inner rampart but the S side projects 18.5m, enclosing an area of level ground c.0.07ha in area which may have been used for holding stock. The outer rampart lies equidistant from the middle rampart at a distance of 7m-8m, it is 0.2m-0.6m high on the interior and c.1m high on the exterior. There are traces of a ditch between the middle and outer ramparts, most clearly on the NW side. There are two sets of entrances through the ramparts; the main entrance is to the SE and cuts obliquely through the ramparts with a widthe of 3.5m-6m. The entrance through the middle rampart is out-turned on the S side and in-turned on the N; the S side is defined by three large boulders which extend into the ditch. A narrower entrance cuts the NW ramparts, 3m-3.5m wide, less acutely staggered than the main entrance.

In the interior of the settlement there are circular stone foundations of at least 8 prehistoric buildings, 4m-8m in diameter with walls up to 0.5m high incorporating medium to large boulders. Two buildings have small internal oval areas of laid stones placed slightly off-centre; these may represent hearths. A number of stone and earth banks are associated with the buildings, forming enclosures and sub-divisions within the interior of the settlement. At least two clearly defined scooped areas represent traces of earlier timber buildings. Traces of a stone wall running at 90 degrees to the S edge of the main entrance may represent a structure associated with this entrance. (13a)

Black and white photographs taken at various dates by Tim Gates (1985; 1986; 1997; 2000) are an excellent record of the monument and show the extent of presumed prehistoric cultivation terraces surrounding it. (13b)

NT 8670 2891. Between early October and late November 2001, English Heritage carried out a detailed field investigation of Ring Chesters Iron Age hillfort (NT 82 NE 24), together with an area of 24.5ha (60 acres) around it, following a request from the Northumberland National Park (Event record 1300646).

The earthworks are essentialy as described by previous investigators. The Iron Age hillfort usually called Ring Chesters, but allegedly known as Elsdon Burn Camp in the C19th, is well preserved as an earthwork. There has been no recorded excavation, but traces of possible small-scale trenches have been identified; these may date to the mid 1960s. The earliest identifiable phase of the hillfort, of uncertain date , is represented by a low, curving scarp that underlies the stone built central circuit. The next phase is a bivallate fort, oval in plan, formed by two concentric earthen banks reveted by large stones, enclosing an area of 0.41ha, with entrances on the SE and NW, the former with a pronounced offset between the terminals. Later, the near-circular stone-built inner circuit was added, eccentrically to the earlier circuits so that it partially overlay the line of the inner of the two earthen banks, which was then graded away to form a single steep scarp. The stone-built rampart itself would probably have been a broad wall with an external face c2m in height; up to three courses of this face survive in places. Quarrying outside the hillfort may be linked with its construction. The internal area was 0.19ha and there was an entrance on the NW. In the Romano-British period, elements of all three circuits were remodelled, with low stony banks rebuilt over the tumbled material. The interval between the ramparts on the W is subdivided into a series of small pens. Stone robbing and a series of breaches in the ramparts, including the one on the S side of the central circuit which has been wrongly identified as an original entrance, are probably of this date. There are two phases of occupation: the earlier phase, presumably contemporary with either the bivallate fort or its stone-built successor, is represented by one or perhaps two large circular 'ring-groove' houses (two of those identified by Jobey are doubtful). The later phase is represented by some seven smaller circular stone-founded ring-banks. These are associated with yards and other subdivisions of the interior and are almost certainly of Romano-British date. The hillfort is probably associated with the extensive tracts of cultivation terraces on the W, N and E of the hill (NT 82 NE 115), but the relationship is difficult to prove.

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. (13c)

General association with Extensive and well-preserved tracts of lynchets and cultivation terraces (HER 650) (13)