An enormous
iron age fort comprising a man-made hill of approximately 1.5
square miles and protected by a series of giant
earthworks, some over 20
feet high, found near
Dorchester,
Dorset,
England.
Although not a
castle in the
medieval stone building sense, it would have
been an almost
impregnable edifice for the native
Neolithic people.
The flat top area would probably have been protected by
wooden stakes
and would have enclosed an entire
village as well as secure
grazing areas for
livestock.
It seems to have been built on the site of earlier defences at around 350 BC, with
regular reinforcements and improvements until about 70 BC. It was the capital of
the powerful local Celtic tribe, the Durotriges, but was captured during the
main Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD and subsequently seems to have been
abandoned. Although the Romans left no written records of the battle,
archeological evidence indicates that the fight was a long, drawn-out siege with
many casualties on both sides. For such a primitive people to hold out for so long
against the might of the Roman legions gives some impression of how
formidable a defence it was.
Maiden castle can be visited and if you're in that region of Britain I'd recommend it.
When you stand there and look at the size of this place it's completely awesome
and even after two millennia left untouched, you can still feel how much
of an important place it once was.