Berry Mound

Berry Mound is an Iron Age univallate hillfort near Shirley on the outskirts of Birmingham, in the Bromsgrove district of Worcestershire, dated to the 1st or 2nd century BC. The fort covers roughly 11 acres, measuring 450 ft north-south by 200 ft east-west, surrounded by a 24-ft-wide earth rampart. Excavation in 1959 uncovered traces of timber revetments on the ramparts and a re-cut V-shaped ditch, demonstrating the site's importance as a defensive position. Local tradition links it to a battle between King Alfred's forces and besieged Danes, and 19th-century observers recorded a now-vanished third line of ramparts.