Ambresbury Banks is the name given to the remains of an Iron Age hill fort in Epping Forest near Theydon Bois.
According to legend, it is the site of the last stand by Boudica against the Romans in the year 61 though there is no evidence to support this.
The fort encircles an area of 4.5 hectares and is surrounded by a single bank, two metres high, together with a ditch. There is a small counterscarp bank on the outside lip of the ditch. The defences now have six major breaks in their circumference; only one appears to be original. This is approached from the north west by a trapezoidal causeway. The ends of the bank at this point were revetted with coursed puddingstone blocks. The width of the passageway was sufficient to suggest double gates, but no central postholes were found. Finds at the site have included shards of red, grey and black pottery, flints and flint arrow heads, and lumps of baked clay. These suggest a construction date of around 700 BC and occupation until 42 AD.
The area within and around the fort is now completely wooded, although in Iron Age times it would have been cleared of trees to enable a better field of view, and for agriculture. This has been suggested by evidence of wild service trees, which are an indicator of regrown forest.
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Ambresbury Banks is the name given to the remains of an Iron Age hill fort in Epping Forest near Theydon Bois.
