Hodgemoor – Iron Age Settlement
Although there is no sign of it today, you are standing near a Late Iron Age farmstead. Over two thousand years ago, people made a home here, farming the fields and keeping animals.
Of course we can’t know for sure without excavation, but the form of the ditched enclosure that is visible in the LiDAR (airborne laser scanning) data suggests that this is one of several later prehistoric farm enclosures in the central Chilterns. It is only partly preserved because the construction of Bottrells Lane to the north has cut through it, and the fields on the other side of the road have been farmed for at least 200 years, with the plough removing all visible trace of the ditch and bank. But with the nearby presence of later prehistoric field systems and close proximity to the Roman Road (also a stop along this trail) this is most likely a pre-Roman or Romano-British farmstead. All that is left is this shallow outer bank, ditch and shallow inner bank, difficult to see on the ground.
LiDAR image showing several features revealed when tree-cover has been removed. This farmstead is marked ‘Ditched Enclosure’
This farm would likely have been a modest and functional settlement, providing the means for agriculture and livestock management and reflecting the needs of a farming community. The main buildings on such a farmstead would have been roundhouses, a structure with walls made of wattle-and-daub and timber beams, supporting a thatched conical roof.
Livestock, including cattle, sheep, and pigs, may have been kept in small byres, often close to or even inside the living quarters. The farmstead might also include a few pits for preserving surplus grain or seed corn. Agriculture was central to daily life, with fields cultivated for cereals like barley, wheat, and oats. Tools for farming, made of wood and iron, would have been simple yet effective. Seasonal activities, such as planting, harvesting, and the births of lambs and calves dictated the rhythm of life.
You can learn more about this way of life from the Chiltern Open Air Museum.
Heritage Trails
This is one of four ‘Routes to the Past’ circular walks, made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. You can find the other trails on the main Chilterns Interactive Map, under routes.
Each trail has four waymarkers with unique stories to tell – Find the other Hodgemoor Wood trail markers and scan their stories at the locations shown here.
