1. Thurba Camp is a defensive complex set about a central enclosure c.50m by 40m perched on an irregular coastal promontory, defined by precipitous cliffs except where a stone-faced wall/rampart faces NE across the promontory isthmus, with two widely spaced lines of bank & ditch beyond , the outer having a c.90m frontage. Up to seven circular structures have been noted associated with the central enclosure, although the site as a whole is obscurred by lime workings.

(source Os495card; SS48NW13)

2. THURBA HEAD. The headland, as outlined by high-water mark, measures about 250 m long from N.E. to S.W. and about 140 m broad, but the greater part of this is either bare rock or steep craggy slopes; apart from banks across possible lateral approaches, the fortified area covers 1-2 ha and is triangular, about 150 m long from N.E. to S.W. to the outermost rampart, and about 80 m across the base. The headland is very irregular. A section from N. to S. would appear as a series of steps of various sizes formed by shelves separated by vertical crags and ascending to the nearly flat top of the ridge; S. of this are one or two narrower 'steps' above a steep slope, ending at a vertical cliff. The shelves, however, are not level, but fall uniformly towards the N.E., and several of them, as well as the grassy slope on the S., provide relatively easy access to the seaward end of the promontory from points outside the defences. These approaches have been barred by ramparts. That on the N.W. now appears as a scarp, though a shelf at its toe suggests the presence of a ditch. That on the S. comprises a ditch, now very faint, backed by a bank of earth and rubble with remains of a stone revetment to front and rear.

The main defences are arranged to prevent approach along the nearly level ridge. Approaching from the N.E., the first barrier is a bank and ditch now about 15 m wide by 2 m high overall; the ditch is almost obliterated by cultivation and a modern field-wall follows the bank. At its N. end, now slightly damaged by a small quarry, this bank seems to have ended on a low crag, below which a slighter bank running E.-W. crosses the upper end of a grassy shelf. The S. end of the outer bank curves round to the S.W. and dies out close to the end of the second rampart. This is a bank and ditch now about 10-5 m wide and over 2 m high overall. It is separated from the first line of defence by a space averaging about 21 m wide, with no visible traces of occupation.

To the W. of the second rampart the ridge rises gently to form an oval plateau measuring about 50 m by 35 m; the summit is just over 54 m above O.D. Along the E. edge are traces of a wall of dry stone about 6 m wide with no accompanying ditch. This wall has been almost entirely robbed, probably for lime-making (see below), but about 10 m of the outer face still stands up to 0-5 m high; the rest can be traced by the low rims of small stones left after robbing. This defence seems to have continued round about half the circuit of the plateau; most of the remainder is precipitous. A short length of similar walling, only about 3 m thick, bars a possible approach from the S. just beyond the W. end of the summit plateau. A few stones of the outer face remain just below the summit, and after a gap 3 m wide the line is continued by a robber-trench and a further short length of facing. The whole is much ruined, but there seems to have been a gateway here. There is no trace of an entrance elsewhere.

The approach to this gate seems to have followed the ditch (perhaps a hollow trail) outside the S.W. extension of the first rampart, which leads to a terraced roadway following the foot of the crags where they join the grassy slope, but the W. end of this roadway is obliterated for about 35 m by quarrying and debris associated with an adjacent limekiln. Beyond this disturbance there is no roadway, but an easy slope leads up to the gateway.

Within the enclosure are shallow hollows with level floors, ranging from 3 to 6 m across. The two adjacent to the stone wall are almost certainly hut sites, and the other three shown on the plan are very probably so. Others, less regular and not indicated, are probably shallow surface quarries. No hut-sites were observed on the N. or S. slopes. The habitable area within the stone wall is about 0-3 ha. Surface appearances suggest that the fortifications comprise work of two periods, the earlier being the stone wall round the summit, but this has not been verified by excavation. B.B.C.S., VIII, iv (May 1937), p. 365; Rutter, P. Gower, p. 66

Source: RCAHMW 1976: An Inventory of the Ancient Monuments in Glamorgan. Volume I: Pre-Norman. Part II. The Iron Age and The Roman Occupation. No 698, Rhosili. P. 64-5

3. Visited by T. Driver and L. Barker, 10th April 2024

4. National Trust Heritage record: https://heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk/HBSMR/MonRecord.aspx?uid=MNA132584