Description

In April 2007 an archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Channel 4’s Time Team at ‘The Castles’, a scheduled monument situated on land at West Shipley Farm, Hamsterley, Co. Durham (centred on NGR 410353 533078).
‘The Castles’ comprises a large, rhomboidal dry-stone monument with a single entrance to the east and a substantial ditch which appears to surround the monument on all sides. The monument was first recorded in late the 18th century and subject to a series of investigation by Hodgkin in the early 20th century, including, at times, extensive rebuilding of parts of the walls. No evidence for internal structures or dating had been found, but the monument was believed to represent the remains of a fortified site of Late Iron-Age, Romano-British or post-Roman date.