Danebury Hill Fort

Danebury Iron Age hill fort is in Hampshire, north west of Stockbridge and close to Nether Wallop.

Danebury is one of the most extensively studied hillforts in Europe. 'Iron Age' describes the period between the end of the Bronze Age and the start of the Roman period (700BC - AD43). Evidence found suggests that the Fort was built 2500 years ago and occupied for nearly 500 years. You can discover more and see some of the finds at the Museum of the Iron Age in Andover.

In the hill fort you can see the 'Ring' of ramparts and the once hidden gateway. The earth works around the entrance will give you a feel for the success of the Danebury defences and you may notice that the ground slopes to a high spot in the centre of the ring. This area was a focal point for religious gatherings and important meetings. You may also notice some subtle dips in the ground where grain stores used to be. These dips are the only visible evidence of past excavations.

Currently large Beech trees around the perimeter of the earth works make the site very prominent in the surrounding landscape. Other hill top features that you can see from here may also have been fortified sites of ancient settlement.

Schools

Bring the Iron Age to life with a visit to Danebury hill fort. We have costumes and artefacts, can recreate the footprint of a roundhouse and storm the gates. Alternatively discover the creepy-crawlies living in the area of special scientific interest, come for a spider safari or conduct a minibeast survey.

We recommend a half day session at the hill fort is linked to a visit to the Museum of the Iron Age, Andover which houses the artefacts excavated from the hill fort. Alternatively a whole day session at Danebury could be run jointly by the Countryside Service and the Museum of the Iron Age, Andover tel 01264 366283.

It is possible to take a class on a self guided visit to Danebury by using the downloadable teacher background notes, self guided activities and/or the Activity Boxes. The boxes can be borrowed from the Museum of the Iron Age in Andover.

We encourage schools to come out to our sites to experience nature and the local environment first hand, however in exceptional circumstances we will consider travelling to schools.

Download our information for teachers HERE.

Download our resource PDF HERE.

Opening times

Open all day.

We occasionally have to close the site at short notice, either due to requests from the MoD or to protect sensitive habitats or breeding birds. We apologise for any disappointment this may cause.

Free entry

We can provide specialist tours for group bookings:

• Please contact the Museum of the Iron Age in Andover for archaeology tours - tel 0845 603 5635
• Please contact the Rangers for countryside and wildlife tours – 01962 860948