Dumnonii Rule OK Traditional Cache

Welcome to the Milber Iron Age Hill Fort which was occupied by the Celtic tribe known as the Dumnonii (pronounced Dum-noney-aye) between the years 50 BC to 50 AD. Our current county name Devon was derived from the Dumnonii name for their territory of Defena.

When you next take the short cut back road between Torquay and Newton Abbot,you will be driving through what is the centre of an Iron Age hill fort.
As you descend the hill towards Newton you might notice some earthworks either side of the road.These are the embankments that protected the three enclosures of the hill fort, a small bank on the outside protected a crop growing area, while the larger inner ones were fortified ramparts with a ditch to protect the tribal people. The main entrance has sadly gone as this was destroyed when the road was built.

In 1938 an archaeological dig was carried out at the site and along with various pottery items three small bronze figurines were unearthed in the upper filling of a ditch. These were a bird, a duck and a stag. They had been buried in the early first century AD after the enclosure had been abandoned.

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It has been suggested that they served some kind of ritual function, and could have been mounted on a ceremonial staff, vessel or casket.

Yet, Milber wasn’t to last. After being lived in for about 100 years, it was deserted soon before the Roman conquest in the mid-first century.

The views from the cache site are stunning and give you an idea of the lookout's view of any impending raids on the fort.

I recommend you park your Celtic handcart at the waypoint, walk up through the trees on the path near the left side of the road. Cross at the waypoint crossing. Walk the path until you come to a stile on your left, then take this uphill track to the site. You can safely return the same way, or follow the footpath to the end, where you will have to cross the dangerous road and find the trails and hill fort embankments in the woods on your way back to parking area.
This cache has been placed with the kind permission of English Heritage.

As this is the site of a scheduled monument please be respectful of the hill fort area, embankments etc and treat with care.
Criminal Offences
It is against the law to: disturb a scheduled monument by carrying out works without consent, cause reckless or deliberate damage to a monument, use a metal detector or remove an object found at one without a licence from English Heritage. Conviction for these offences can lead to fines.