A round is an embanked univallate enclosure with an external ditch and a single entrance, found in England only in Cornwall and western Devon but also widely scattered in other parts of western Britain. Most are circular or oval in plan, although a few are sub-rectangular and even triangular in outline. Rounds are usually recognized as earthworks or as cropmarks on aerial photographs. Excavations, though few in number, have provided evidence for interior occupation ranging from ovoid, boat-shaped, circular and rectangular structures to courtyard houses and fogous. These are sometimes situated close to the inner face of the rampart providing for an unoccupied central area, although there is no strict adherance to this arrangement.
In plan, rounds are very similar to enclosures of other periods, and are sometimes confused with Roman forts, enclosed Medieval settlements, ponds, and Civil War earthworks. These confusions can usually only be resolved by detailed fieldwork.
Specifically excluded from this definition of rounds are large roughly circular enclosures of over 3 ha. and those enclosures with very substantial defences which are better seen as hillforts (various classes).
Rounds are generally interpreted as having an agricultural function rather than a defensive one, although whether all examples were settlements is open to debate; some may have served as stock-pounds or storage areas.