Fin Cop

Fin Cop is a hill and an associated Iron Age hill fort in Monsal Dale, close to Ashford in the Water in Derbyshire, England.^[2]

Key Information

Fin Cop
The summit of Fin Cop
Highest point
Elevation	327 m[1]
Coordinates	53°14′09″N 1°44′13″W / 53.23583°N 1.73694°W / 53.23583; -1.73694
Geography
Fin Cop Fin Cop within England
Location	Derbyshire, England
Show more

The fort shows evidence of hurried construction, indicating a defensive response to a real threat, rather than the more usual assumption that such forts were a display of status and prestige.^[2] The hillfort, along with an adjacent bowl barrow, lime kiln and quarry, constitutes a Scheduled Ancient Monument.^[3]

In 2011 excavations unearthed a mass burial containing only women and children, the first such segregated burial in Iron Age Britain. Some animal bones were also found, suggesting the inhabitants kept livestock. The remains were relatively well preserved due to the limestone geology of the hill. Carbon dating of the site suggests it was constructed between 440BC and 390BC.^[2]

1. ^ OS 1:25000 map
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Mass burial suggests massacre at Iron Age hill fort". BBC News. BBC. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
3. ^ Historic England. "Fin Cop promontory fort, bowl barrow and eighteenth century lime kiln with associated quarry (1011205)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 February 2014.