The Ringses camp, burial mounds and cairns, Beanley Moor

The Ringses hillfort, Romano-British settlement, burial mounds and cairns 550m south west of Broomhouse represent a range of archaeological remains dating from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. The individual components of the monument vary in character and each is rare and considered to be of national importance. The individual features of the monument hold information relating to settlement, social organisation, burial and religion within the Bronze Age and Iron Age. As a group the components provide information on the development and changing use of the landscape.

The Ringses hillfort is well-preserved and is an excellent example of its type. The monument will contain archaeological deposits relating to its construction, use and abandonment and environmental deposits relating to the use of the surrounding landscape.

The monument, which is divided into three separate areas of protection, includes a small multivallate hillfort of Iron Age date with an overlying hut-circle settlement of later prehistoric date, two round cairns and a number of round mounds of Bronze Age date situated on gently sloping ground on Beanley Moor.

The hillfort is visible as a sub-circular enclosure measuring a maximum of roughly 46m by 43m within three concentric banks and ditches. The surrounding ramparts vary in height from 0.5-4.0m and in width from 4m to 8m and they decrease in height and width from the outer to the inner. The hillfort has two entrances to the east and west with the west entrance being well defined and having transverse banks along its north and south sides forming "guard chambers". Within the inner ditch lies the remains of a hut circle which represents part of the Romano-British reoccupation of the monument.

Situated about 100m north west of the west entrance of the hillfort there is an oval knoll, upon which are two cairns connected by a semi-circular line of stones, some of which stand on edge. Situated about 210m south east of the ramparts of the hillfort there are at least 12 small mounds. Both sets of features are interpreted as Bronze Age clearance cairns or burial mounds. Further archaeological remains exist in the vicinity of the monument but have not been included as they have not been assessed..

Lying 1km to the SW of Eglingham at 142m OD, a multivallate hillfort reused in the Roman period. It occupies a non-defensive position on a gentle northerly slope on Beanley Moor. Circular with three earth and stone banks and three ditches it measures 102m in diameter with an overall area of 0.82ha. The ramparts increase in height and width outwards. The inner rampart averages 0.5m in height and 4m wide, and the outer rampart 8m in height and 8m wide. A further bank lies externally in the S. Entrances lie in the E and W, although the eastern entrance is now mutilated. Breaks in the western defences have transverse banks in the N and S between the middle and outer rampart, described as 'guard chambers' in the scheduling description. An E-W footpath crosses the enclosure utilising the breaks in the rampart. There are slight traces of two hut circles within the interior and four hut circles with an average diameter of 9m outside the hillfort in the NW. A further Romano-British hut circle lies within the inner ditch. These are stone founded with scooped interiors and are probably Romano-British. The site is shown on 1856-65 OS mapping. A number of cup and ring marked stones and Bronze Age cairns or burial mounds lie in the vicinity. Minimal investigations, undated.

Source: Lock, Gary and Ralston, Ian. 2024. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. Available at: https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk (CC BY-SA 4.0)