Dr Ian Brown

Research Interests

Ian Brown is a research archaeologist and historian with interests ranging from the Bronze Age through to the Medieval period, and especially the Iron Age, and the location, nature and social significance of hillforts and other enclosures in the landscape of England, Wales and the Isle of Man, the latter with its Viking connections. He also has long-standing interest and experience in archaeological, heritage and countryside site management, environmental heritage and natural resource research, archaeology in protected areas and nineteenth century maritime archaeology. Between 2012-2016 he was a member of the team working on the AHRC-funded ‘Atlas of the Hillforts of Britain and Ireland’ project of Oxford, Edinburgh and Cork Universities. The second edition of his book ‘Beacons in the landscape, the hillforts of England, Wales and the Isle of Man was published in 2021 and he is the author or co-author of over forty papers, monographs or books. At present he is Director of the ‘Ravensburgh Castle Hillfort Project’ (a hillfort in Hertfordshire) with a variety of stakeholders, including Heritage England and Natural England. He is also working on a previously unrecognised possible defended enclosure in Denbighshire in association with the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership. He sits on the AONB ‘Heritage, Culture and Communities Working Group’. He is also a Visiting Professor in the Department of History and Archaeology, University of Chester.  

Select Publications

2004 ‘Discovering a Welsh landscape – archaeology in the Clwydian Range’,    

          Windgather Press, Bollington.

2009 ‘Beacons in the landscape, The Iron Age hillforts of England and Wales’, 

          Oxbow Books/Windgather Press, Oxford. 

2019 ‘Hillforts of England, Wales and the Isle of Man: Diversity captured’,

          in Lock, G, and Ralston, I. ‘Hillforts: Britain, Ireland and the near Continent’, Papers

          from the Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland Conference, Edinburgh, June 2017,

          Archaeopress Archaeology, Oxford.

2021 ‘Beacons in the landscape, The Iron Age hillforts of England, Wales and the Isle of

          Man’, Windgather Press/Oxbow Books, Oxford, 2nd Edition.

2022 (with Bamborough, M.) ‘Ravensburgh Castle revisited: the Ravensburgh Castle

         Hillfort Project 2012-present’, PAST, Preshistoric Society 100, Spring 2022.