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ABOUT THIS MONUMENT
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Maiden Castle, known primarily for its Iron Age hillfort, which is one of the largest and most complex in Europe; the site includes other multi-period remains on a chalk hilltop of the South Dorset Downs. The earliest features to be identified include a group of pits associated with Early Neolithic flint working, dating to around 4000 BC. A causewayed enclosure was built soon after, on the eastern plateau, which may have contained a long barrow and is associated with two infant burials. The Iron Age hillfort overlies this enclosure. In around 3500 BC, after the enclosure had fallen out of use, a bank barrow was constructed, part of which overlies the western end of the enclosure. In the Later Neolithic and Bronze Age periods two barrows and a small enclosure were constructed. There are believed to be three main phases for the Iron Age occupation of the site. Initially, in the Early Iron Age, it was a univallate hillfort, defined by a single rampart enclosing only the eastern end of the hill. During the second half of the 3rd century BC the ramparts were extended to the west and during the mid-2nd century BC the ramparts were rebuilt on a larger scale. The ramparts of the later multivallate hillfort consisted of three banks and two ditches around the hilltop, with an extra bank and ditch to the south, and two complex entrances. The interior of the fort was intensively occupied. Excavation revealed traces of circular and rectangular huts evident from post holes, trenches and floor remains, as well as over 50 human burials, many within a cemetery at the eastern end of the site. Occupation of the hilltop declined following the Roman Conquest, but a Romano-Celtic temple was built at the eastern end of the fort, during the 4th century AD. During the post-Roman period the site was used to graze stock; dewponds were constructed to provide water. The site is in the care of English Heritage.
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| URL: |
http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=451864
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| MONUMENT NUMBER: |
451864 |
COUNTY: |
DORSET
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| NMR NUMBER: |
SY 68 NE 7 |
DISTRICT: |
WEST DORSET |
| LAST UPDATED: |
N/A |
PARISH: |
WINTERBORNE ST. MARTIN |
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AREA: |
N/A |
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STREET: |
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MARITIME LOCATION: |
N/A |
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LOCATION: |
SY 6693 8848
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MORE INFORMATION & SOURCES
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(SY 66938848) Maiden Castle [NR]
Neolithic Earthwork [NR]
ROMAN TEMPLE [R] (remains of) [NAT] (1)
MAIDEN CASTLE - Excavated by Mortimer Wheeler between 1934 and 1937. (2)
Maiden Castle: 1:2500 survey revised using plans authority 2 and 2a and OS air photograph 78:080:049. See ground photographs. (3)
The statue found by Wheeler lying within the "shrine" and interpreted by him as being of Diana, is reinterpreted as being a statue of Dionysus-Bacchus. (4)
Additional aerial photographs. (5-6)
Excavation report on the 1985 and 1986 excavation programme including Carbon-14 date. (7-8)
Neolithic Cornish axes, and 15 Carbon-14 dates from Maiden Castle. (9)
SY 669 885. Maiden Castle. Listed in gazetteer as a hillfort with 4 phases of construction. Phase I: univallate covering 7.5ha. Phases II-IV: initially univallate but later multivallate covering 18.5ha. (10)
In 1984-1985, RCHME carried out a level 3 analytical earthwork survey of the monument complex at a scale of 1:1000. For further information see archive collection. (11)
Further excavations were carried out in 1985-6, under the direction of Niall Sharples. The results, including the plan produced by RCHME and a synopsis of the issues arising from the survey, are fully published. (12-13)
In October 1997, RCHME carried out a level 1 survey of the site as part of a national project to record Industry and Enclosure in the Neolithic (Event Record 923509). The Neolithic causewayed enclosure underlye the earthworks of the Phase I Iron Age hillfort. (25)
The earliest features to be identified include a group of pits associated with Early Neolithic flint working. A causewayed enclosure was built soon after, on the eastern plateau. This enclosure may have contained a long barrow and is associated with two infant burials. Some time after this enclosure had fallen out of use, a bank barrow was constructed (SX 68 NE), part of which overlies the western end of the enclosure. Two barrows (SX 68 NE) and a small enclosure were constructed later, probably in the later Neolithic/Bronze Age. The Iron Age hillfort overlies the Neolithic enclosure. Finds include groups of sling stones, Iron Age pottery, brooches, beads, loom weights, querns and coins. Around 50 human burials have also been identified, many within a cemetery at the eastern end of the site. Occupation of the hilltop declined following the Roman Conquest, but a Romano-Celtic temple was built at the eastern end of the fort, during the 4th century AD. The building comprised a central block, or cella, surrounded by a corridor or verandah, within a walled precinct. The cella may have had mosaic floor, while the corridor had a tesserated pavement. During the post-Roman period the hilltop was used to graze stock and a number of dewponds were constructed to provide water. See child records for details. Scheduled. (23)
(SY 6693 8848)
In October 1998, RCHME carried out a Level 1 Field investigation and Level 3 archival research on the Neolithic causewayed enclosure which underlies the multivallate Iron Age hillfort known as Maiden Castle (SY 68 NE 7), as part of a national project recording Industry and Enclosure in the Neolithic (Event Record 923509) (29)
Multi phase Iron Age hillfort. There are three main phases for the Iron Age occupation of the site, the Early Iron Age fort is defined by a single bank and ditch which enclosed the eastern summit of the hilltop. The fort was then extended to the west to enclose more than double the area of the original fort. Throughout this period, extra ramparts were added and the inner rampart was heightened. The entrances to the fort became increasingly more complex as more ramparts were added and gateways were redesigned. The interior of the fort appears to have been densly occupied at this time. In the later part of the iron age occupation became restricted to the eastern half of the fort and the defences became less important, though the inner bank and ditch wre refurbished at least once. Settlement and industrial activity extended into the area in front of the eastern gateway. There have been two major programmes of excavation of the site, the first in 1934-7 by Mortimer Wheeler and the secon in 1985-6 . (2A, 12)
Finds have included groups of sling stones, pottery, brooches, beads, loom weights, spindle whorls, querns and weaving combs. Approximately 50 burials have also been identified, many within a cemetery at the eastern end of the site. Scheduled. (23)
Maiden Castle, known primarily for its Iron Age hillfort, which is one of the largest and most complex in Europe, includes multi-period remains on a chalk hilltop of the South Dorset Downs. The site has been excavated by Edward Cunnington (1884), Sir Mortimer Wheeler (1934-1937) and N Sharples (1985-1986). The earliest features to be identified include a group of pits associated with Early Neolithic flint working, believed to date to around 4000 BC when the hilltop was first cleared of woodland. A causewayed enclosure was built soon after, on the eastern plateau, which may have contained a long barrow and is associated with two infant burials. The Iron Age hillfort overlies this enclosure. In around 3500 BC, after the enclosure had fallen out of use, a bank barrow was constructed, part of which overlies the western end of the enclosure. In the Later Neolithic and Bronze Age periods two barrows and a small enclosure were constructed. (23, 28, 29)
There are believed to be three main phases for the Iron Age occupation of the site. Initially, in the Early Iron Age, it was a univallate hillfort, defined by a single rampart comprising of a chalk bank, an outer ditch and intervening berm. These ramparts were broken by entrances to the east and west guarded by timber gates. During the second half of the 3rd century BC, the ramparts were extended to the west and during the mid-2nd century BC, the ramparts were rebuilt on a larger scale. The ramparts of the later multivallate hillfort consisted of three banks and two ditches around the hilltop, with an extra bank and ditch to the south, and two complex entrances. The interior of the fort was intensively occupied. Excavation revealed traces of circular and rectangular huts evident from post holes, trenches and floor remains as well as what has been interpreted as roads, gullies, storage pits and ovens. The largest circular building is believed to have developed into a shrine. Over 50 human burials have also been identified, many within a cemetery at the eastern end of the site. One of the most notable finds was a Roman ballista within the vertebrae of an adult man. (2A, 12, 23)
Occupation of the hilltop declined following the Roman Conquest, and the Roman town of Durnovaria (now Dorchester) was established to the north east at Dorchester. A Romano-Celtic temple was built at the eastern end of the fort, during the 4th century AD. The building comprised a central block, or cella, surrounded by a corridor or verandah, within a walled precinct. The cella may have had a black and white mosaic floor, while the corridor had a red tesserated pavement. The structure was built of flint and limestone and roofed with stone tiles, later replaced by clay. During the post-Roman period the hilltop was used to graze stock and a number of dewponds were constructed to provide water. (2A , 12, 23)
Source 30 inlcudes a brief accessible overview of the development of Maiden Castle for visitors. (30)
Additional source on Maiden Castle in a work of synthesis about the sites of prehistoric Dorset. (31)
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SOURCE TEXT
(1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)
6" 1963
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(2) Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England) 1970 An inventory of historical monuments in the County of Dorset. Volume two : south-east [in three parts]
part 3 Page(s)493-501
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(2a) by R E M Wheeler 1943 Maiden Castle, Dorset
Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of LondonNo.1 (1913) - no.12
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(2b) Alexander Keiller ; prepared for publication by I F Smith 1965 Windmill Hill and Avebury : excavations by Alexander Keiller, 1925-1939
Page(s)17
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(3) Field Investigators Comments
F1 JGB 20-JUN-80
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(4) Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society
Henig, M 105, 1983 Page(s)160-2
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(5) Aerial archaeology : the journal for air photography and archaeology
Allen, GWG 10, 1984 Page(s)11-12
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(6) by S S Frere and J K S St Joseph 1983 Roman Britain from the air
Cambridge air surveys Page(s)6-8
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(7) Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society
Sharples, N. Maiden Castle project 1985: an interim report. 107, 1985 Page(s)111-119
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(8) Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society
Sharples, N. Maiden Castle project 1986: an interim report. 108, 1986 Page(s)53-62
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(9) Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society
Sharples, N. 109, 1987 Page(s)81, 102, 124, 125
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(10) by A H A Hogg 1979 British hillforts : an index
BAR British series1 (1974) - 62 Page(s)225
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(11) Field Investigators Comments
RCHME Field Investigation 1984-1985. MC Corney, DS McOmish, C Dunn, M Bowden.
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(12) N M Sharples 1991 Maiden Castle : excavations and field survey 1985-6
English Heritage archaeological reportsNo.1 (1985) - no.24 (1994) no.19 Page(s)43-101
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(13) by Niall M Sharples 1991 English Heritage book of Maiden Castle
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(23) Scheduled Monument Notification
24-SEP-1997
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(14) Royal Archaeological Institute The Archaeological Journal
Excursion to Maiden Castle 22, 1865 Page(s)351-6
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(15) General reference
Warne, C. Ancient Dorset. Page(s)79
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(16) Journal of the British Archaeological Association
Cuming, H Syer. Report on Ancient Remains Found at Maiden Castle. 28, 1872 Page(s)39-45
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(17) Journal of the British Archaeological Association
Proceedings of the Congress 28, 1872 Page(s)99-102
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(18) Journal of the British Archaeological Association
Clift, JGN. Maiden Castle, Dorchester. 13, 1907 Page(s)157-168
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(19) Journal of the British Archaeological Association
Forster, RH. Notes on Maiden Castle. 13, 1907 Page(s)169-171
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(20) Journal of the British Archaeological Association
Clift, JGN. Neolithic Implements from Dorset. 13, 1907 Page(s)172-5
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(21) by Roland J C Smith ... [et al] 1997 Excavations along the route of the Dorchester by-pass, Dorset, 1986-8
Wessex archaeology reportsno.1 (1992)- no.11
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(22) Peter J Woodward 1991 The South Dorset Ridgeway : survey and excavations 1977-84
Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society monograph seriesNo.1 (1982) - no.8
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(24) English Heritage 1998 The English Heritage visitors' handbook 1998-99
Page(s)80
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(25) General reference
RCHME: Industry and Enclosure in the Neolithic
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(26) by Audrey Meaney 1964 A gazetteer of early Anglo-Saxon burial sites
Page(s)81
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(27) Helen Geake 1997 The use of grave-goods in conversion-period England, c.600-c.850
BAR British series1 (1974) - 261 Page(s)150-1
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(28) General reference
RCHME: Industry and enclosure in the Neolithic
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(29) English Heritage Members' and Visitors' handbook 2008/9
Page(s)104-105
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(30) English Heritage: Edited by Katy Carter 2004 Heritage Unlocked: Guide to free sites in Devon, Dorset and Somerset
Page(s)52-55
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(31) John Gale 2003 Prehistoric Dorset
Page(s)11, 41, 109, 114-114, 116, 119-122,164-5
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