Hod Hill 3.21

Hod Hill is a large hill fort in the Blackmore Vale, 3mi north-west of Blandford Forum, Dorset, England. The fort sits on a 143m chalk hill of the same name that lies between the adjacent Dorset Downs and Cranborne Chase. The hill fort at Hambledon Hill is just to the north.The fort is roughly rectangular, with an enclosed area of 22ha. There is a steep natural slope down to the River Stour to the west, the other sides have an artificial rampart, ditch and counterscarp, with an additional rampart on the north side. The main entrance is at the south-east corner, with other openings at the south-west and north-east corners.The hillfort was inhabited by the Durotriges in the late Iron Age; whether this is the same tribe who fortified the hilltop in the middle Iron Age is unknown. There is extensive evidence of settlement within the fort, including platforms for roundhouses.Hod Hill is the second in a series of Iron Age earthworks, starting from Hambledon Hill, and including Hod Hill, Spetisbury Rings, Buzbury Rings, Badbury Rings and Dudsbury Camp. The Iron Age port at Hengistbury Head forms a final Iron Age monument in this small chain of sites.