Featured: Explore Scotland (and everywhere else) with our Megalithic Portal iPhone app

Explore Scotland (and everywhere else) with our Megalithic Portal iPhone app

Random Image

Stonehenge.

Stonehenge.

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Native American Indian Mounds

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Native American Indian Mounds

Login

Register here - as a registered user you get more features and fewer ads.

Who's Online

There are currently, 1747 guests and 2 members online.

Sponsors

<< Our Photo Pages >> Old Sodbury - Hillfort in England in Gloucestershire

Submitted by 4clydesdale7 on Saturday, 18 October 2003  Page Views: 36808

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Old Sodbury Alternative Name: Sodbury Camp, Soppa's Camp
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 2.1 km away from the location you searched for.
County: Gloucestershire Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Chipping Sodbury
Map Ref: ST76088258  Landranger Map Number: 172
Latitude: 51.541606N  Longitude: 2.346303W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 4 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 3 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 5

Internal Links:
External Links:

I have visited· I would like to visit

TheCaptain visited on 31st Jul 2020 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 4 Friday afternoon 10k walk, north from Old Sodbury along the Cotswold Edge through two ancient forts, past three old churches and lots of big houses to Horton Court. Back over fields through Little Sodbury. Stopped for a pint at the Dog afterwards.

4clydesdale7 visited on 24th Aug 2011 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 3 I am uncomfortable with the suggestion that this could be pre-Roman

TheWhiteRider visited on 21st Jun 2010 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 3 Access: 4



Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.67 Ambience: 3.33 Access: 3.67

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by TheCaptain : View east between the fortifications from the outer bank of Old Sodbury Camp (Vote or comment on this photo)
Old Sodbury hillfort is an impressive Bronze to Iron age encampment atop the Cotswold Ridge, alongside the A46 road. The fort is approx. 11acres in size and is made up of a double set of ditches and ramparts.

It's location is a mystery due to it's relative difficulty in access and lack of fresh water supplies locally, but is thought to be connected with the much ruined Horton hill fort nearby.

Local legend claims the Romans refortified the camp after the invasion, and it was almost certainly utillised during the wars of the roses.

Old Sodbury hillfort is private property, but two foot paths run through and across the site. Please stick to these paths, and be wary of grazing live stock. As it is a private monument, metal detecting is strictly not allowed.

See also Horton Hillfort, Chipping Sodbury, and Grickstone Mehir.
You may be viewing yesterday's version of this page. To see the most up to date information please register for a free account.


Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by Thorgrim : The internal banks and ditches are rectangular with rounded corners, very like the layout of Roman forts. This suggests that a Roman fort has been added to an earlier one. (1 comment - Vote or comment on this photo)

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by Thorgrim : Iron Age in origin, but referred to as " the Roman fort" by the locals. The level ramparts and rectangular ground plan suggest that the Romans refortified an earlier fort. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by camperman : Old Sodbury Camp taken from the south east corner showing its roughly rectangular shape and widely spaced double ramparts and ditches. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by Bladup : Lidar image of Old Sodbury Fort Source: www.lidarfinder.com (Vote or comment on this photo)

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by camperman : The south east corner looking north showing the wide spaced ramparts. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by camperman : The inner ditch running west to the escarpment edge.

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by camperman : A view from the east showing the causewayed entrance.

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by camperman : The fort viewed from the south west showing the steep Cotswold escarpment on the wooded western side where there is a single bank and berm crowning the slope.

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by TheCaptain : Old Sodbury Camp seen from the south, having walked up the higher version of the Cotswold Way from Old Sodbury

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by TheCaptain : View from within the fortifications of Old Sodbury camp

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by TheCaptain : View northwards across the inside of the camp from the southern banks

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by TheCaptain : Looking west along the top of the inner bank at the southern side

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by TheCaptain : Composite panorama of Old Sodbury Camp from the northwestern corner

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by TheCaptain : Within the ramparts of Old Sodbury Camp at the northwestern corner

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by TheCaptain : From a noticeboard at the Camp

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by 4clydesdale7 : The earthworks at the top of the Cotswold Scarp 200m N of the Roman Camp but immediately to the W of the N half of the 'British Camp' suggested by Witts

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by 4clydesdale7 : Looking N along the E side outer bank of the Roman Camp - nearest is the later entrance (from which the other photo was taken) - just beyond is the earlier entrance built by the Romans but beyond that is the N extension of the outer E bank which Witts considered might have been built to connect with a bank built 'by the British'

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by 4clydesdale7 : The staggered entrance (but not the earliest) to the Roman Camp

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by 4clydesdale7 : The outer ditch and bank to the SE of the Roman Camp looking in the direction of the Cross Hands

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by 4clydesdale7 : The NW outside bank and inner ditch of the Roman Camp near to a foot entrance leaving access to a local spring

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by mishkin : North entrance, second outer bank by farm. Cotswold Way entrance through small gate, walking from the church.

Old Sodbury
Old Sodbury submitted by mishkin : Interior of fort; the "romanised" neatness of the bank is evident compared to earlier untidy outer iron age banks.

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
Click here to see more info for this site

Nearby sites

Click here to view sites on an interactive OS map

Key: Red: member's photo, Blue: 3rd party photo, Yellow: other image, Green: no photo - please go there and take one, Grey: site destroyed

Download sites to:
KML (Google Earth)
GPX (GPS waypoints)
CSV (Garmin/Navman)
CSV (Excel)

To unlock full downloads you need to sign up as a Contributory Member. Otherwise downloads are limited to 50 sites.


Turn off the page maps and other distractions

Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 1.6km E 82° The Grickstone* Standing Stone (Menhir) (ST77698281)
 1.8km N 11° Horton Camp* Hillfort (ST76438436)
 2.3km ENE 72° Grickstone Farm* Chambered Tomb (ST78278327)
 2.8km WSW 253° Chipping Sodbury Stone Circle* Modern Stone Circle etc (ST73398176)
 4.4km N 9° Hawkesbury Well Holy Well or Sacred Spring (ST7677586931)
 4.7km N 9° Hawkesbury Knoll* Long Barrow (ST76838722)
 4.9km SSE 157° Tormarton 1* Long Barrow (ST77957805)
 5.1km SSE 157° Fox Covert NW* Chambered Tomb (ST78087791)
 5.7km S 172° West Littleton Down* Round Barrow(s) (ST769769)
 5.7km S 188° Dyrham and Hinton* Chambered Tomb (ST75307689)
 5.9km E 86° Giant's Caves* Chambered Cairn (ST81998297)
 6.0km E 87° Luckington II* Chambered Tomb (ST82108284)
 6.2km SSW 198° Dyrham Camp* Hillfort (ST741767)
 6.3km NNE 32° Starveall* Chambered Tomb (ST79408792)
 6.6km NNE 32° Upper Kilcott Round Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (ST79638819)
 6.9km NE 42° Tump Barn Round Barrow* Round Barrow(s) (ST80758770)
 7.8km NE 51° Didmarton Cross* Ancient Cross (ST8223887460)
 7.9km NE 51° St Lawrences Well* Holy Well or Sacred Spring (ST82258749)
 7.9km NNE 32° Nan Tow's Tump* Round Barrow(s) (ST80288932)
 8.0km W 276° Iron Acton Churchyard Cross* Ancient Cross (ST6807583467)
 8.1km ESE 120° Lugbury* Chambered Tomb (ST83097856)
 8.2km ENE 75° Hancock's Well Holy Well or Sacred Spring (ST8403684687)
 8.4km ESE 113° Castle Coombe Cursus (ST838793)
 8.8km ESE 112° Castle Coombe Cursus (ST842792)
 9.4km NE 40° Parkwood Farm* Round Barrow(s) (ST822897)
View more nearby sites and additional images

<< Bury Camp (Wiltshire)

Hardy Monument Barrows >>

Please add your thoughts on this site

Contribute!

· NEW: I have visited
· I would like to visit
· Submit an Image
· Add a description
· Give accurate position
· Add a comment or news about this site

Long Barrows of the Cotswolds, Darvill

Long Barrows of the Cotswolds, Darvill

Sponsors

Latest Visit Logs

  • The Bargain Stone
    “Sadly when I was there it was covered by a large box. At least the workers renovating the church ha…”
    by cactus_chris · 15 Jun 2026
  • Sigtuna U 389
    “Right next to the museum entrance, this runestone is hard to miss.”
    by CharcoalBurner89 · 15 Jun 2026
  • The Awen Stone
    “Situated in the grounds of West End Campsite, easily visible and accessible as of June 2026.”
    by TimPrevett · 15 Jun 2026
  • Dolmen de la Roc de l'Arca
    “GPS co-ordinates are accurate. Use the same parking as for Dolmen de la Cauna del Moro and walk 200…”
    by Jhalst1 · 14 Jun 2026
  • Dolmen de la Cauna del Moro
    “The GPS co-ordinates are accurate, and you can drive to withing 10m of the dolmen. There is parking …”
    by Jhalst1 · 14 Jun 2026

"Old Sodbury" | Login/Create an Account | 7 News and Comments
  
Go back to top of page    Comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.
Re: Old Sodbury andy the witchyman by Anonymous on Tuesday, 26 November 2024
I went there in the 90s on a bright sunny day
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Old Sodbury by 4clydesdale7 on Thursday, 25 August 2011
(User Info | Send a Message)
If Witts is correct where have all the Earthworks gone from the field to the North of the Roman Camp? Other than those shown at the top of the Scarp in my photo (which do not seem to have been repeated to the West of the Roman Camp which would have been logical) (and the Romans built nothing to the West) where did all the other British (earlier) built Western banks and ditch go? They are just not there now.
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Old Sodbury by h_fenton on Thursday, 25 August 2011
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    try here, you need to click on the '+' signs to expand the headings: http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=205135

    to search sites I normally use the map search on pastscape: http://www.pastscape.org.uk/MapSearch.aspx

    note of caution, monument descriptions on Pastscape may contradict each other as they show different peoples interpretations over a period of time.
    [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Old Sodbury by 4clydesdale7 on Thursday, 25 August 2011
      (User Info | Send a Message)
      Pastscape only uses the words 'Iron Age' once in all its five page description of Sodbury Camp and that is under the heading Monument Type on page 5 - it also makes no reference (most unusually for Pastscape) to Witts or BGAS under the heading Sources - hence my research was devoted to seeing where the idea that it was 'an Iron Age Camp' came from - I could find nothing earlier than Witts paper to BGAS one year after he had stated in his epic work that it was Roman built (not altered)
      [ Reply to This ]

Re: Old Sodbury by 4clydesdale7 on Thursday, 25 August 2011
(User Info | Send a Message)
Visiting Sodbury Camp (formerly Soppa's Camp) and Horton Camp (an Iron Age promontory fort) on the same day because they are about 1.5km apart makes me ask questions - for example - why are two similar forts/camps so close together and on the same ridge? - what function does one perform that the other cannot? - did one become redundant? - was one found to be impracticable? - in design they are centuries apart Horton being the earlier by far - the age of Sodbury has not been confirmed by dedicated excavation - the locals always regarded it as Roman rather than Iron Age -

So where does the notion that it could be Iron Age come from? - the earliest reference I can find that suggests it could be pre-Roman is not so long ago - in his Handbook of Gloucestershire (publ 1883), Witts makes no mention of Sodbury being anything but Roman - Ancient Camp No. 92; but in his paper delivered to the Bris. & Glos. Arch. Soc. published in the Transactions for 1884 Vol 8 having carried out a recent...

Read the rest of this post...
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Old Sodbury by TheCaptain on Thursday, 25 August 2011
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    Very interesting 4clydesdale7, this is something I have often wondered, whenever I pass by. It is not at all like a typical hill or promontary fort, and its rectangular arrangement to me clearly shouts "Roman". But was there anything here before which they adapted? I don't know, and to be honest have never really tried to find out! But it just feels wrong for Iron Age to me.

    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Old Sodbury by Anonymous on Tuesday, 20 February 2007
This is an interesting site with what appear to be defensive fortifications cut into the hillside along towards Old Sodbury. They can be clearly seen from the Cotswold Way footpath. The remains of what may be a road also forms part of the Cotswold Way just after the reservoir. At this point evidence of a field system or similar can also be seen looking downhill towards Chipping Sodbury.
[ Reply to This ]

Your Name: Anonymous [ Register Now ]
Subject:


Add your comment or contribution to this page. Spam or offensive posts are deleted immediately, don't even bother

<<< What is five plus one as a number? (Please type the answer to this question in the little box on the left)
You can also embed videos and other things. For Youtube please copy and paste the 'embed code'.
For Google Street View please include Street View in the text.
Create a web link like this: <a href="https://www.megalithic.co.uk">This is a link</a>  

Allowed HTML is:
<p> <b> <i> <a> <img> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <tt> <li> <ol> <ul> <object> <param> <embed> <iframe>
We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.