Maiden Castle

One of the largest and most famous Iron Age hillforts in Britain, located in Dorset, England. The oldest structure on the hilltop is a Neolithic causewayed camp (c 2000-1500 BC), followed after an interval by an earthen long barrow, which is partly built over the ditches of the earlier camp. Occupation resumed in the Early Iron Age (c 5th century BC) with the construction of a hillfort (c 250 BC) which was later extended to fortify the entire hill. Maiden Castle was at that time a permanent settlement with stone and wooden huts linked by surfaced trackways. Sometime before 50 BC, the site came under the control of the Belgae and became the tribal capital of the Durotriges, with coinage and imported Gallo-Roman luxuries. During the Roman conquest, the fort was sacked by Vespasian's legion (43-44 AD), and the slain defenders were buried in a cemetery near the east gate. The Romans moved the remaining population to a new site at Durnovaria (Dorchester), and the hillfort was abandoned until the 4th century AD when a Romano-Celtic temple was built there.

Hill southwest of Dorchester, Dorset, southern England, on which were built successively a Neolithic causewayed camp, a long barrow and a massive Iron Age hillfort enclosing nearly 20 hectares. The site was excavated in the 1930s by Sir Mortimer Wheeler and the work here made major contributions to the development of techniques of archaeological excavation and recording, as well as to the understanding of British hillforts. The earliest structure was the causewayed camp, with two concentric rings of ditches on the eastern end of the hill. After this site had gone out of use an unusual bank barrow was constructed, partly over the filled ditches, measuring almost 550 metres in length and originally cl.5 metres high. At the eastern end there was a concave setting of posts and the burials of two young children. Occupation was resumed in the Iron Age, perhaps in the 5th century bc, with a univallate fort on the eastern knoll of the hill; subsequently this was extended to cover the entire hilltop. Inside were huts of stone and timber, some circular, some rectangular, and surfaced trackways between them. In the 2nd century bc the site was twice refortified, ending up as a massive stronghold with double ramparts on one side and treble on the other, and with complex entrances, involving elaborate outworks, sentry boxes and platforms for slingers. Beside one of the sentry boxes at the eastern entrance was a pit containing 22,260 sling stones. In the 1st century bc the site became the tribal capital of the Durotriges. In the Roman campaign of ad 44 Maiden Castle fell to Vespasian’s army and the excavated war cemetery of this period contained 38 bodies, one with an iron ballista bolt lodged in his spine. The Romans moved the population to a new settlement at Dumovaria (Dorchester) and Maiden Castle was abandoned. The only later indications of use come from the 4th century, when a Romano-Celtic temple was built on the hilltop, possibly continuing worship of the Iron Age deity.