Oakmere Hill Fort

Oakmere hill fort is an Iron Age hill fort, one of many large fortified settlements constructed across Britain during the Iron Age, but one of only seven in the county of Cheshire in northern England [1]. A low-lying site, Oakmere hill fort is on a triangular area of land projecting into a mere, also called Oakmere [1]. Today, the waters of the mere are 10 ft below the defences at the south-western end of the site, with a 35 ft gap between the edge of the mere and the defences; however when the hill fort was built the water-level would have been higher and closer to the scarp, offering the site natural defences [1]. Ramparts were thrown up around the south-west and north sides of the site, creating an arc, and a ditch was created in front of the rampart [1]. In 1960, Oakmere hill fort was excavated by archaeologist James Forde-Johnston; the excavation focused on the site's southern defences and showed that the ditch was 50 ft wide at its zenith and originally 10 ft deep in places [1]. The structure was made a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1995 [1].