Reinstatement at Eddisbury Hill
Following the archaeological excavation that took place during the summer of 2010 on Eddisbury Hill, we were left with the task of backfilling and reinstating the hillfort earthworks to their former appearance.
It was commented on by many of the local visitors to our excavations that ‘it was a shame to be covering up the spectacular remains of the east entrance’; particularly as the precise location had not been clearly marked in the past and its existence had been forgotten.
Unfortunately, reburial is the most effective method of preserving the remains particularly with reference to the harm that extreme sub-zero temperatures can cause to exposed ancient stonework.
In the hope of achieving a satisfactory compromise we entered in to consultation with English Heritage and the Forestry Commission to devise a scheme to ensure that the archaeological remains were properly protected and a more visible marker could be left on the site of the entrance. To this end 60 tons of sand was donated by Tilcon from the local sand quarry in order to backfill the east entrance excavation and at the same time six large timbers were placed up-right into the front six postholes of the Iron Age entrance in such a way that their tops would still be visible after the backfilling was complete.
The surplus stone removed from the 1930’s backfill has been used to build low dry stone walls between the extant timber posts in order to mimic the underlying archaeological remains. This installation work will then be accompanied by a new interpretation board with an artist reconstruction of how the hillfort entrance might have originally looked; this will be sited adjacent to the style on Eddisbury Hill lane for those who do not fancy the steep hill climb to the actual entrance.
Thank you to the Habitats and Hillforts trusty team of drystone
wallers for all your hard work.
