East Hill Earthworks
The remains of a large earthen bank running for 300M north-east to south-west starting at Rocklands Caravan Park and terminating at the cliffs near the Ecclesbourne Glen Rifle Range (works for which undoubtedly damaged the bank) running along the western slopes of the glen may be part of a pre-historic hill-fort. The earthwork shows evidence of having been constructed in up to three phases[1].
An excavation of the bank occurred on its east side in 2003 in advance of a proposed development on the Caravan Park demonstrated that at least in that area no outer ditch was present. If this did exist, it may well have been removed by quarrying and/or landscaping, a circular quarry in the vicinity being testament to that practice. The only finds uncovered were crude worked flints of possible Bronze Age and Iron Age date, the earliest of which probably related to pre-bank activity, and cobbles [2]. These are rounded flint pebbles, possibly from the beach along the coast, the flints not naturally occurring in the Ashdown Sands. Their function is unknown but Priestley Bell considers a number of possibilities, including their use as sling stones, concluding that they, ‘... were all probably associated with the occupation of the hillfort.’[2]
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