Preserving trig points There are various ways of protecting trig points (‘Sherds’, CA 436). This example (below) sits within the Iron Age hillfort known as Castle Hill, close to the Roman fort of Bar Hill on the Antonine Wall in…
REVIEW BY HEATHER BEETON This report is a result of 11 seasons of extensive excavations of the multiperiod site at Mellor hilltop in Stockport, carried out by University of Manchester Archaeological Unit. Occupation started in the Mesolithic and continued in…
New dating evidence from the burials found at the Iron Age hillfort of Maiden Castle, in Dorset, has revealed that they were interred over a period of a century or more, and were not all from one mass casualty evident.…
An exhibition currently running at the University of Nottingham Museum showcases finds from Breedon Hill and Burrough Hill, hillforts that are both located in the East Midlands where such monuments are relatively scarce and poorly understood compared to other regions. Carly Hilts visited the displays, speaking to John Thomas, Clare Pickersgill, and Helen Sharp.
There are lots of great archaeological and historical events and activities coming up over the next few months, including exhibitions, festivals, and conferences. Or, if you would prefer to get your heritage fix at home, there is plenty on offer as well, from virtual site tours and new digital resources to TV shows, podcasts, apps, and more. Amy Brunskill has put together a selection of some of the options available.
REVIEW BY GARY LOCK The Baltinglass area has rightly been called ‘Ireland’s Hillfort Capital’ due to the 13 or so large enclosures on hilltops surrounding the modern town. The area has been intensively studied by a team from University College…
On the banks of the Tweed in the Scottish Borders is the reputed site of Merlin’s Grave, the embedded remnant of a legend long associated with the nearby village of Drumelzier. Dr Ronan Toolis explains how a community archaeology project revealed why this tale became rooted to this part of Tweeddale.
I concluded last month’s column just east of Avebury at the Sanctuary, a Neolithic and Bronze Age site that is also the start and end point of the Ridgeway, an 87-mile route rich in archaeology that runs between there and Ivinghoe Beacon across Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire
The Cotswolds these days have a reputation as a playground of the rich and famous. The Roman occupation of this area certainly had its social high society too.
REVIEW BY AB In the 1990s, archaeologists excavating in West Sussex made a remarkable discovery: human remains belonging to ancient humans who lived around half a million years ago. These discoveries from Boxgrove continue to represent the oldest human remains…
REVIEW BY CHRIS JONES This important book is the product of 11 seasons of careful fieldwork by members of the Northumberland Archaeological Group. The book is structured around the five main areas of the project, beginning with the geoarchaeological survey…
REVIEW BY HOWARD WILLIAMS A truly stupendous achievement of synthesis and evaluation, Life in Early Medieval Wales is a first for Welsh archaeology. Nancy Edwards’ concise prose draws on the experience of a lifetime spent teaching and researching early medieval…
There are many brilliant archaeological events on offer over the next few months, including new exhibitions, conferences, and lectures. If you would prefer to get your history and heritage fix at home, though, there is a wide variety of offerings to choose from, including virtual museum- and site tours, digitised historical resources, games, TV shows, and more. Amy Brunskill has put together a summary of some of the options available.
REVIEW BY KK This brief volume provides a succinct overview of the main castles and fortifications found across the West Country. Starting in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Powell-Thomas then gives special attention to examining the Palmerston forts surrounding…
REVIEW BY IAN RALSTON This monograph on Welsh hillforts is by a man who knows them well. It builds on Driver’s innovative doctoral examination of those in Ceredigion, and his general book on Cardigan Bay, to consider the entirety of…
In CA 388 we asked, ‘what are hillforts for?’, and Toby Driver’s new book Hillforts of Iron Age Wales has some suggestions. Based on his many years spent recording these monuments on the ground and from the air, he concludes that no single explanation fits every example. Rather, like terraces of seemingly identical Victorian or Edwardian houses, external similarities disguise the many different functions, ideas, and ways of life that hillforts supported, as Chris Catling reports.
Your thoughts on issues raised by CA.
Based on three years of excavations at Dinas Dinlle – carried out by archaeologists from Gwynedd Archaeological Trust, CHERISH, the National Trust, and Cadw (see CA 356 and 394) – new reconstruction drawings by Wessex Archaeology are bringing the site…
Maiden Castle is one of Europe's largest Iron Age hillforts. In which English county is it situated?
Review by David Flintham From Iron Age hillforts to Second World War pillboxes, fortifications are all around us. Yet there are probably more terms relating to fortifications than anything else in military history. Author Jean-Denis Lepage has challenged himself to…
Your views on issues raised in CA.
If there is a challenger to Piddington’s crown as the ‘prime’ site of Northamptonshire, then the multi-period site of Raunds in the north-east of the county, with its intriguing history of early medieval and later settlement, is a strong contender.
Review by George Nash L ittered throughout much of southern Britain are stark reminders of the later prehistoric landscape: the Iron Age hill enclosure (or hillfort). As the generic name – ‘hill enclosure’ – suggests, these enigmatic features are located around…
Review by Andrew Tibbs. This invaluable contribution to our knowledge of hillforts is the most complete study on the subject in Britain and Ireland to-date. A long-awaited volume, it sheds much light on these somewhat enigmatic structures, detailing the results…
Not so long ago, the word ‘hillfort’ was habitually preceded by the words ‘Iron Age’, but now we know plenty of older examples. Not all of them are built on hills, and as for the word ‘fort’ there is little evidence for a defensive or offensive function. So what on earth are they? Having read the new Atlas of the Hillforts of Britain and Ireland, Chris Catling explores decades of research into these puzzling prehistoric monuments.
The new discoveries include a number of small farmsteads and Iron Age enclosures.
The recent renovation of Trimontium Museum in Melrose has given archaeologists the opportunity to re-examine the enduring mystery of what happened at the nearby Roman fortress of the same name – as John Reid explains.
Hadrian’s Wall is often blamed for splitting ancient Britain in two, but a new look at the archaeological evidence suggests that the peoples of what would become Scotland and England were already culturally divergent long before the Romans arrived in Britain – as Ronan Toolis explains.
Cornwall is a county with a long military history, and reminders of its past can be found scattered across the landscape, ranging from Iron Age hillforts to Cold War control centres. Surrounded by sea on three sides, Cornwall has been…
Hillforts of the Tay: community archaeology at Moncreiffe Hill and Castle Law, Abernethy AOC Archaeology Group Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust, £5 ISBN 978-527264052 Review Miles Russell