Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (310 page)

See
AUGER
.

 
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GEOGYLPHS
found mainly on the chalk downlands of southern England. Usually made by cutting away the turf and topsoil to reveal the white bedrock surface beneath, although in some cases trenches have been dug and chalk rubble rammed into place to form the outline. The most ancient example so far confirmed is the White Horse at Uffington, Oxfordshire, which was first cut in the late Bronze Age (
c.
1000 bc), but other examples, including the Cerne Giant, Dorset, and the Long Man of Wilmington, Sussex, are generally considered to be old. Comparatively recent examples include the figure of George III near Weymouth, Dorset.

 
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A general term used to describe a fortification on a hilltop, the best known of which are the later prehistoric examples mainly of later Bronze Age and Iron Age date, the 1st millennium
bc
, in Europe. Usually situated in a prominent and defensible position, hillforts were fortified with one or more lines of stone walls or earthen ramparts and ditches and elaborate defences. Their construction often relates to the kind of warfare common in the region in which they lie at the time of their occupation. Many were permanently occupied, although some were temporary refuges in times of trouble.

 
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A type of
HILLFORT
dating to the mid 1st millennium
bc
in southern England which is characterized by its large size, relatively insubstantial defences, and position spread across large promontories and gently sloping hills. Because they fit within the first phase of hillfort construction, and are broadly contemporary with small compact highly fortified sites, they are interpreted as temporary refuges for both people and livestock.

 
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Sediment that has accumulated in valley bottoms.

 
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Middle Bronze Age groups living in north Belgium and southern Holland. Characterized by the use of cremation burial under round barrows set in round barrow cemeteries. In such burials the urns used to contain the ashes of the deceased were also quite distinctive and are known as
Hilversum urns
. Because similar urns and burial traditions were also found within the
DEVEREL–RIMBURY CULTURE
of southern England, some authorities have suggested the movement of populations from Britain to the Low Countries.

 
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