Swinley Forest History & Mystery

  • Home
  • Introduction
  • Origins & History
  • Archaeology
    • The Bronze Age
    • Iron Age - Caesars Camp
    • Roman Era
      • The Devil's Highway
      • Wickham Bushes
    • Saxon Times
    • Napoleonic Period
    • World War II
  • Forest Today
  • Acknowledgements
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Introduction
  • Origins & History
  • Archaeology
    • The Bronze Age
    • Iron Age - Caesars Camp
    • Roman Era ›
      • The Devil's Highway
      • Wickham Bushes
    • Saxon Times
    • Napoleonic Period
    • World War II
  • Forest Today
  • Acknowledgements
  • Contact

The Bronze Age - 2200 to 750BC

Whilst there are very few archaeological remains from the Bronze age, and most earthworks would have been destroyed by forestry over many years, we do know that Bronze age people lived in the area. A little under 2 miles to the north of the forest is a large mound, Bill Hill, which is surmounted by a Bronze age burial site. Just over 1000 yards from the northern edge of the forest in Wooden Hill is a second Bronze age tumulus. There are also 4 mounds which have the appearance of being burial mounds close to what is now known as The Devil's Highway. These mounds have not been fully investigated at the time of writing. There are further a couple of sites that outwardly have the appearance of being long barrows but again these have not yet been studied.

It is highly likely that Neolithic and Bronze age people lived on the spur of the forest that is now occupied by Caesar's Camp and a few flint artifacts have been found inside the Camp. This area is a likely site for some form of habitation and/or religious practices because unlike most of the other spurs off the plateau this one has a natural oak leaf shape and we know that the oak held a special place in ancient British cultures. The Bronze age people may even have built some form of bank around the site to emphasize its shape. The banking would then have been extended and raised during the later Iron Age occupation of the site

I hope that in the future there will be proper modern archaeological study of Caesar's Camp which will answer many of the questions about its construction and use.

©2014 Richard Brignall

Last updated: on January 15, 2015

Site hosted by iimco