Things people “know” about hillforts

Myth Every hillfort is on a hill.

Fact Despite the name, not all hillforts are on hills, and not all were forts in the military sense. University of Edinburgh: Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland site launched In Devon and Cornwall most Iron Age hillforts sit on hill slopes or ridge ends overlooking springs or valleys, probably for farming rather than defence. English Heritage: History of Blackbury Camp

Myth Hillforts were only forts for fighting.

Fact Many may have been regional gathering places for festivals and trade, and some are on low-lying land. University of Edinburgh: Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland site launched Ramparts were formidable obstacles, but they may also have been built for display, showing off the power of the people inside. English Heritage: History of Old Oswestry Hillfort

Myth All hillforts were built at the same time.

Fact Hillforts were mostly built in the Iron Age: the oldest date to around 1000 BC and the most recent to about AD 700. University of Edinburgh: Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland site launched Excavations in 1939 showed its ramparts were built in four main phases, not all at once. English Heritage: History of Old Oswestry Hillfort

Myth Iron Age battles were long sieges.

Fact Iron Age warfare usually took the form of heroic confrontations rather than sieges. English Heritage: History of Maiden Castle

Myth Ramparts were always green and grassy.

Fact When it was first built, its gleaming white chalk ramparts would have towered over the landscape. English Heritage: Maiden Castle

Myth The dead at Maiden Castle were killed by the Romans.

Fact In the eastern gateway the Wheelers found a large Iron Age cemetery; 34 skeletons from the very end of the Iron Age had terrible injuries. English Heritage: History of Maiden Castle English Heritage says the dead were almost certainly not victims of a Roman assault: they were carefully buried, with grave goods, by their own people. English Heritage: History of Maiden Castle

Myth Every hillfort had a well.

Fact No wells are known inside any hillfort, so people perhaps collected rainwater from their roofs in troughs or leather bags. English Heritage: History of Maiden Castle

Myth Iron Age pots were made on a potter’s wheel.

Fact Pots were hand-made from local clay, without a potter’s wheel. English Heritage: History of Maiden Castle

Myth Every round building was a home.

Fact Not every round building was a home: some were workshops for making cloth and metalwork. English Heritage: History of Maiden Castle

Myth We know what every hillfort was for.

Fact Historic Environment Scotland says we do not know exactly what the Caterthuns were used for. Historic Environment Scotland: Brown and White Caterthuns, history and stories Large rectangular pits flank the western entrance; nobody knows what they were for. English Heritage: Description of Old Oswestry Hillfort