Editing Maiden Castle, Dorset (section)

==Developed hill fort==
[[Image:Maiden castle dorset ramparts.jpg|thumb|left|Maiden Castle's southern defences were made up of four [[Rampart (fortification)|ramparts]] and three [[ditch (fortification)|ditches]].]]
In the Early Iron Age, Maiden Castle was generally unexceptional; it was one of over 100&nbsp;hill forts of similar size built around the same time in the area that is now [[Berkshire]], Dorset, [[Hampshire]], and [[Wiltshire]]. In the Middle Iron Age, Maiden Castle was expanded and in the process it became the largest hill fort in Britain<ref name="Sharples 11, 83">Sharples (1991a), pp.&nbsp;11,&nbsp;83.</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.open2.net/historyandthearts/history/locations_maiden_castle.html |title=Maiden Castle, Dorset |publisher=[[Open University]] |access-date=2009-05-31}}</ref><ref>Millett (2003), p.&nbsp;28.</ref><ref>Scarre (1998), p.&nbsp;184.</ref> and one of the largest in Europe.<ref name="Pastscape"/><ref name="English Heritage">{{citation |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.15733 |title=Maiden Castle |publisher=[[English Heritage]] |access-date=2009-05-31}}</ref> According to archaeologist Niall Sharples it is, by some definitions, the largest in western Europe.<ref name="Sharples 11, 83"/> In about 450&nbsp;BC, Maiden Castle was expanded from {{cvt|6.4|to|19|ha}}. The area was initially enclosed by a single bank and ditch, with the bank standing {{cvt|2.7|m|ft}} high although the ditch was shallow. The hill fort's expansion was not unique; it was one of a series of "developed hill forts" in southern England. 

As some hill forts were expanded, many of the smaller hill forts that had proliferated in the Early Iron Age fell out of use, as was the case in Dorset. The developed hill forts in Dorset were spaced widely apart. This, and the abandonment of the smaller hill forts in the area when the developed hill forts were built, indicates that these developed hill forts were important.<ref>Sharples (1991a), pp.&nbsp;83–84.</ref> The developed hill forts of Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, and Wiltshire were equally spaced apart, with roughly equal access to resources such as water.<ref>Cunliffe (1983), pp.&nbsp;67–68.</ref>

The emergence of developed hill forts has been attributed to Iron Age society becoming more complex.<ref>Cunliffe (2000), pp.&nbsp;48–49.</ref> The emergence of one dominant hill fort in an area indicates that the inhabitants of a particular hill fort became more important than their contemporaries, possibly through warfare. However, a general dearth of evidence for destruction and an increase of artefacts associated with crafts and industry suggest that the reason for change was economic. Hill forts may have become important as centres of trade.<ref>Sharples (1991a), pp.&nbsp;84–85.</ref><ref>Cunliffe (2000), p.&nbsp;52.</ref> This is supported by the possibility that the multiple rings of ditches often employed at developed hill forts (the technical term for which is "[[Hill fort#Types of hill fort|multivallate]]") were likely to be not just defensive; so many ditches and ramparts, such as those at Maiden Castle, were excessive for defence alone so were likely used as statements of power and authority.<ref name="Cunliffe 2000 50">Cunliffe (2000), p.&nbsp;50.</ref> Developed hill forts were generally densely occupied; this is best demonstrated at Danebury, where 57% of the site has been excavated.<ref name="Cunliffe 2000 50"/><ref>Payne, Corney, & Cunliffe (2007), p.&nbsp;58.</ref> While developed hill forts were of a higher status than their smaller predecessors, they were not all equal. Cunliffe states that the Maiden Castle's monumental defences probably indicate that it was of higher status than other developed hill forts.<ref>Cunliffe (2000), p.&nbsp;51.</ref>

[[File:Maiden Castle, Dorchester..jpg|thumb|The ramparts and ditches of the developed hill fort]]
Maiden Castle expanded westwards, and the ditch was extended to enclose the neighbouring Hog Hill. The peaks of the two hills encompassed by the new, larger hill fort were separated by a [[dry valley]]. A shaft dug into the valley was possibly used as a water source.<ref>Sharples (1991a), p.&nbsp;83.</ref> Almost immediately after the single ditch enclosure was expanded to {{cvt|19|ha}}, work began on making the defences more elaborate. The existing rampart was heightened to {{cvt|3.5|m|ft}}, and more ramparts and ditches were added. On the south of the fort, four ramparts and three ditches were added, but because of the steepness of the northern slope of the hill, the fourth rampart did not extend all the way round, and only three ramparts were built on the northern side. At the same time, the eastern entrance was again made more complex through the addition of further earthworks, lengthening the approach to the site.<ref>Sharples (1991a), pp.&nbsp;85–86.</ref>

The four-post structures common in hill forts throughout England are also found in Maiden Castle. Their purpose on this site is uncertain however, since at {{cvt|2|m|ft}} square they have been considered by archaeologists to be too small for dwellings; as a result, it has been concluded that these structures were probably granaries.<ref name="Sharples 87-88">Sharples (1991a), pp.&nbsp;87–88.</ref> The presence of granaries suggests that the fort was used to control the area's food supply.<ref>Sharples (1991a), p.&nbsp;89.</ref> Little evidence has been discovered for houses in Maiden Castle during the site's reconstruction in the 5th century&nbsp;BC; this is probably because the site has not been fully excavated and a quarry used to provide material for the rampart may have obliterated the evidence.<ref name="Sharples 87-88"/> It appears that houses were not built near the ramparts until after the defences were complete.<ref>Sharples (1991a), p.&nbsp;90.</ref> Maiden Castle was occupied throughout the Iron Age and its inhabitants lived in [[Roundhouse (dwelling)|roundhouse]]s. The later houses appear to be organised in rows, and to be roughly similar in size, a reorganisation which indicates the increasing power of the elites over Iron Age society.<ref>Sharples (1991a), pp.&nbsp;90–93.</ref>

Bronze objects such as pins, jewellery, and rivets have been found on the site, dating from the Middle Iron Age. As there was no local source of tin and copper ore, this demonstrates long distance trade, probably with the southwest. Although bronze was not produced at Maiden Castle, there is evidence of it being reworked.<ref>Sharples (1991a), pp.&nbsp;104–105.</ref> Good quality iron ore could be found in the surrounding area, but the hill fort does not appear to have been a centre for iron production in this period; this is not unusual as very few hill forts in Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, and Wiltshire exhibit traces of iron production.<ref>Sharples (1991a), p.&nbsp;106.</ref> Early in the Iron Age, most of the pottery found at Maiden Castle was produced locally&nbsp;– within about {{cvt|15|km|mi}}&nbsp;– however later on sources further afield became more important, and by the Late Iron Age 95% of the pottery came from the area around [[Poole Harbour]], more than {{cvt|35|mi|km}} away.<ref>Sharples (1991a), p.&nbsp;107.</ref> This long-range trade has been taken as evidence for increasing relationships with groups of people over large areas and the emergence of tribal identities.<ref>Sharples (1991a), pp.&nbsp;114–115.</ref> Although Sharples states that developed hill forts such as Maiden Castle are not towns and cannot be considered truly urban because they are so closely related to agriculture and storage,<ref>Sharples (1991a), p.&nbsp;113.</ref> Cunliffe and fellow-archaeologists Mark Corney and Andrew Payne describe developed hill forts as "town-like settlements", a form of proto-urbanism.<ref>Payne, Corney, and Cunliffe (2007), pp.&nbsp;5–7.</ref>