Wychbury Ring is an Iron Age

Iron Age

The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

 hill fort

Hill fort

A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...

 located on Wychbury Hill

Wychbury Hill

Wychbury Hill is a hill situated off the A456 Birmingham Road, at Hagley, Stourbridge, on the border of West Midlands and Worcestershire.It is divided between the parish of Hagley and former parish of Pedmore. It is one of the Clent Hills. The hill offers good views across the Severn Valley as...

, near Hagley

Hagley

Hagley is a village and civil parish on the northern boundary of Worcestershire, England, near to the towns of Kidderminster and Stourbridge. The parish had a population of 4,283 in 2001, but the whole village had a population of perhaps 5,600, including the part in Clent parish...

, Stourbridge

Stourbridge

Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...

, on the border of West Midlands

West Midlands (county)

The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...

 and Worcestershire

Worcestershire

Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...

 in the English Midlands

English Midlands

The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...

.

The fort measures 250 m (820.2 ft) from east to west and 150 m (492.1 ft) from north to south, covering an area of 7.25 acre (2.9 ha). It has two sets of ramparts and ditches. The inner rampart is between 16 m (52.5 ft) and 20 m (65.6 ft) wide, rising up to 2.6 m (8.5 ft) in height, with the surrounding inner ditch 10 m (32.8 ft) wide and up to 1.7 m (5.6 ft) deep. The outer rampart is 10 m (32.8 ft) wide and up to 3 m (9.8 ft) in height, with the outer ditch being 10 m (32.8 ft) wide and up to 1.2 m (3.9 ft) deep. There are fortified entrances at the east and south west.

Small bronze rings, including an Iron Age terret

Terret

A terret is a metal loop on horse harness, guiding the reins and preventing them from becoming tangled or snagged on the harness.The reins run from the hands of the driver, through the terrets, and then attach to the horse's bit to guide the horse...

, were found in the fort in 1884, and Roman coins and masonry have been found nearby, suggesting a possible site of a later Roman Villa

Roman villa

A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...

. Investigations in 1924 reported a 5.5 acres (22,257.7 m²) annexe to the south and a nearby Iron Age field system

Field system

The study of field systems in landscape history is concerned with the size, shape and orientation of a number of fields. These are often adjacent, but may be separated by a later feature.-Types of field system:...

, but no trace of either remain.

Images