Chiselbury
site of an Iron Age univallate hillfort located in Wiltshire, England, UK

Chiselbury is the site of an Iron Age univallate hillfort in Wiltshire, England. The hillfort is sub-circular in plan, and encloses an area of approximately 10.5 acres (460,000 sq ft). It is defined by an earthen rampart up to 3.6 metres (12 ft) in height and an external ditch, up to a maximum of 1.6 metres (5.2 ft) in depth. A gap in the south-eastern side of the rampart, and a corresponding causeway across the ditch, is thought to be the original entrance and is associated with a small D-shaped embanked enclosure, which is apparently visible on aerial photographs. Although the enclosure has subsequently been degraded by ploughing, it is still apparent as a series of low earthworks.
Limited archaeological investigation of the interior of the hillfort in the early 20th century failed to find any direct traces of occupation. However, outside of the fort some Iron Age pottery and a lead spindle whorl were found. In addition, two Roman coins, one of which dated to the reign of Emperor Constantine I, were said to have been found within the central area. An Iron Age sword and scabbard were also found on the nearby trackway which runs along the ridge top.
The hillfort is abutted on both its northern and southern sides by embanked ditches or cross dykes.
The public source identifies “Chiselbury” as site of an Iron Age univallate hillfort located in Wiltshire, England, UK. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Chiselbury, site and Iron.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5102064. Authority coordinates are 51.052, -1.975. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Chiselbury” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.