Dolebury Warren

Dolebury Warren is a 90.6 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) near the village of Churchill in North Somerset, notified in 1952. It is owned by the National Trust and managed by the Avon Wildlife Trust.

There is evidence of occupation of the site during the Iron Age and as a medieval/post medieval rabbit warren.

Background
Hill forts developed in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, roughly the start of the first millennium BC. The reason for their emergence in Britain, and their purpose, has been a subject of debate. It has been argued that they could have been military sites constructed in response to invasion from continental Europe, sites built by invaders, or a military reaction to social tensions caused by an increasing population and consequent pressure on agriculture. The dominant view since the 1960s has been that the increasing use of iron led to social changes in Britain. Deposits of iron ore were located in different places to the tin and copper ore necessary to make bronze, and as a result trading patterns shifted and the old elites lost their economic and social status. Power passed into the hands of a new group of people. Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe believes that population increase still played a role and has stated "[the forts] provided defensive possibilities for the community at those times when the stress [of an increasing population] burst out into open warfare. But I wouldn't see them as having been built because there was a state of war. They would be functional as defensive strongholds when there were tensions and undoubtedly some of them were attacked and destroyed, but this was not the only, or even the most significant, factor in their construction".

Construction
There is evidence of occupation of the site during the Iron Age, which has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument (No: 194279).

The defences and Celtic field systems at Dolebury date back to the 4th century-3rd century BCE, though they might mask earlier developments. The rectangular fort commands views over the surrounding countryside. It was protected by a limestone rampart with a ditch and counterscarp on all sides but the South. There is an inturned entrance on the West and an annexe of 0.4ha protecting the easier Eastern approach. Finds include Iron-age and Romano-British materials.

In addition to the remains of double ramparts of an Iron Age hill fort still being visible there is also evidence of a medieval rabbit warren.

Medieval
Dolebury Warren is a very good example of a medieval/post medieval rabbit warren which was used to breed rabbits, providing valuable meat and fur. The warren is completely enclosed by the substantial ramparts of the Iron Age hillfort, Dolebury Camp. Many warrens were surrounded by banks or walls to prevent the rabbits from escaping; escaped rabbits caused damage to nearby farmland and meant a loss in profit. Reusing the hillforts defences as a boundary provided an ideal location in which to breed rabbits.

Ecology
Scarce plants found at the warren include Knotted Pearlwort and Slender Bedstraw.

Source

 * English Nature citation sheet for the site (accessed on 16 July 2006)