Excavations underway at Britain’s biggest Iron-Age hill fort
Excavations underway at Britain’s biggest Iron-Age hill fort
Posted by: HeritageDaily , September 3, 2013
Archaeologists from the Universities of Cambridge and Cardiff are currently undertaking their third, and final, round of excavations at Ham Hill, Britain’s biggest Iron-Age hill fort.
An excavation at Ham Hill, the largest Iron-Age hill fort in Britain, has revealed more about how the ancient structure was developed by its defenders in response to the Roman invasion.
Researchers have been studying the fort, which covers more than 80 hectares of the Somerset countryside, for the past three years in an attempt to understand more about its function, and how such a large structure was defended by the local population.
The final round of excavations, which are currently being concluded, have focused on its ramparts. In particular the team has concentrated on the final phase of their defensive construction, which occurred towards the end of the Iron Age and was probably a response to the threat posed by the Roman invasion.
This defence consisted of box-revetted stone ramparts, situated on top of previously built, three to four metre-high earthen banks. The existence of these structures does not mean that people in the Iron Age lived in a constant state of warfare; though Ham Hill was clearly prepared to try and repulse attackers, it was not simply a military hill fort. Instead, these ramparts may have been more symbolic than practical, an emblem of defence, the building of which would have helped to foster community spirit and create a collective identity, clearly delineating “us” and “them”.
Despite this, there is obvious evidence of violence and assault in the ramparts – the researchers found defleshed and chopped-up human remains dating back to the time of the Roman Conquest.
More:
http://www.heritagedaily.com/2013/09/excavations-underway-at-britains-biggest-iron-age-hill-fort/98901