Ivinghoe Beacon

The hillfort/settlement occupies a commanding position above the Gade valley gap and (to a lesser extent) the Tring gap.

The occupation of the univallate hillfort on Ivinghoe Beacon hill is thought to date from the Late Bronze Age but the earthwork ramparts are probably from the Iron Age. Fragments of early Iron Age pottery were found on the top of the hill in 1932. Early Iron Age fragments were also found in c.1960, suggesting that the site was an early contour fort.

Flint flakes, animal bones and scraps of Bronze Age pottery were recovered when two small holes were excavated in the Beacon in 1920. In 2002 a remarkably intact Wilburton-type sword (late Bronze Age) was recovered from the north side of the fort after illicit metal-detecting. All these finds are on loan or have been deposited with Bucks County Museum.

The Icknield Way is assumed to be a pre-historic routeway between East Anglia and Wessex that passes directly beneath the eastern side of the Beacon. The Beacon Hill settlement may have been built in relation to this feature.

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