Editing Old Sarum (section)

=== Prehistory ===
There is evidence that early hunters and, later, farming communities occupied the site. A protective [[hill fort]], named ''[[Sorviodunum]]'', was constructed by the local inhabitants around 400&nbsp;BC<ref name=beeb /> during the [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] by creating enormous banks and ditches surrounding the hill. The hillfort is broadly oval shaped, measuring {{convert|400|m|ft|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|360|m|ft|abbr=on}} in width. It consists of a double bank and intermediate ditch with an entrance on the eastern side.

Numerous other hillforts of the same period can be found locally, including [[Figsbury Ring]] to the east and [[Vespasian's Camp]] to the north. The [[archaeologist]] [[Richard Colt Hoare|Sir R. C. Hoare]] described it as "a city of high note in the remotest periods by the several [[tumulus|barrows]] near it, and its proximity to the two largest [[stone circle]]s in England, namely, [[Stonehenge]] and [[Avebury]]."{{Efn|name=hoare|''The Ancient History of Wiltshire'' (Vol. 2?) — Sir R. C. Hoare, speaking of ''Stonehenge'', expresses his opinion that "our earliest inhabitants were [[Celts]], who naturally introduced with them their own buildings customs, rites, and religions ceremonies, and to them I attribute the erection of Stonehenge, and the greater part of the sepulchral memorials that still continue to render its environs so truly interesting to the antiquary and historian."{{Full citation needed|date=September 2024}} Abury, or Avebury, is a village amidst the remains of an immense temple, which for magnificence and extent is supposed to have exceeded the more celebrated fabric of Stonehenge; some enthusiastic inquirers have however, carried their supposition beyond probability, and in their zeal have even supposed them to be antediluvian labours! Many of the barrows in the vicinity of Sarum have been opened, and in them several antiquarian relics have been discovered. In short, the whole county is one of high antiquarian interest, and its history has been illustrated with due fidelity and research. This has led more recent scholars to doubt the original inhabitants were actually Celts. It is now believed they may have been the much earlier "Beaker People", so named for the beaker-shaped pots they made.{{Full citation needed|date=September 2024}}}}