Berth Hill

Berth Hill is an Iron Age hillfort in Staffordshire, England, about 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of Newcastle-under-Lyme, and near the village of Maer. It is a scheduled monument.[1] Other forms of its name have been Bryth, Bruff and Burgh Hill.[2]

Berth Hill

Shown within Staffordshire
Location	Near Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire grid reference SJ 788 390
Coordinates	52°56′53″N 2°19′3″W
Type	Hillfort
Length	320 metres (1,050 ft)
Width	150 metres (490 ft)
Area	3.75 hectares (9.3 acres)
History
Periods	Iron Age

The fort is on a sandstone outcrop at the south-east edge of Maer Hills. The defences, following the contours of the hill, have an irregular shape. Their length is 320 metres (1,050 ft) north-west to south-east, and the width is 150 metres (490 ft), enclosing an area of about 3.75 hectares (9.3 acres).[1][2]

The rampart, of earth and stone, is up to 15 metres (49 ft) wide and 0.8 metres (2.6 ft) above the interior. In the north the slope is less steep than elsewhere, and there is a second rampart outside this, width 10 metres (33 ft). There are two original entrances: an inturned entrance in the south-west, and an entrance at the north end of the east defences. There is a spring on the eastern side of the interior.[1][2]

Results of excavations in 1966 and 1975 have been interpreted as showing an early period of occupation, followed by a long interval of disuse (suggested by ditches containing silt and parts of collapsed rampart), and later a hurried reconstruction of the defences.[2]