Where the facts come from
Every factual claim on this site links to its source. This is the full list.
How we checked
Each fact was written alongside its source. Our build script stores the source text and, for every fact, checks that the key words and figures really appear in it. 138 of 138 checks passed when this site was last built (checked 3 Nov 2026). Where we couldn’t read a source, we left the claim out. We quote short phrases only, and never reproduce anyone’s photographs or plans.
Figures that change
Opening times, entry and visitor notices can change. Facts like these are marked “checked 3 Nov 2026”.
What we leave out
This is a site about the history of hillforts and about spotting and visiting them. It isn’t a visitor guide with live opening times, prices or access advice: check with the site you’re visiting. Where a source gives an interpretation or says the answer is unknown, we say so rather than choose for it.
English Heritage (10)
- English Heritage: History of Maiden Castle (32 facts)
- English Heritage: Maiden Castle (3 facts)
- English Heritage: History of Old Oswestry Hillfort (13 facts)
- English Heritage: Description of Old Oswestry Hillfort (4 facts)
- English Heritage: Old Oswestry Hillfort (4 facts)
- English Heritage: History of Uffington Castle, White Horse and Dragon Hill (10 facts)
- English Heritage: Uffington Castle, White Horse and Dragon Hill (1 fact)
- English Heritage: History of Blackbury Camp (6 facts)
- English Heritage: Blackbury Camp (1 fact)
- English Heritage: History of Old Sarum (6 facts)
National Trust (4)
- National Trust: Hambledon Hill (4 facts)
- National Trust: Exploring Hambledon Hill (1 fact)
- National Trust: Cissbury Ring (1 fact)
- National Trust: History of Cissbury Ring (9 facts)
Historic Environment Scotland (3)
- Historic Environment Scotland: Brown and White Caterthuns (2 facts)
- Historic Environment Scotland: Brown and White Caterthuns, history and stories (7 facts)
- Historic Environment Scotland: Brown and White Caterthuns, plan your visit (1 fact)
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park (1)
Hampshire County Council and the Hampshire Cultural Trust (2)
- Hampshire County Council: Danebury Iron Age Hill Fort Local Nature Reserve (12 facts)
- Hampshire Cultural Trust: Museum of the Iron Age (1 fact)
University of Edinburgh (1)
GOV.UK (Department for Education) (1)
When sources disagree
Where sources give different dates, or say something is an interpretation or unknown, we show all of it, with links, and say how we handle it.
When were hillforts built?
- 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
- Hillfort building began across Britain over 2,600 years ago, perhaps marking the rise of larger tribal groups ruled by new elites. English Heritage: History of Maiden Castle
- Old Oswestry was built and lived in during the Iron Age, which English Heritage dates from 800 BC to AD 43. English Heritage: History of Old Oswestry Hillfort
- The first settlement there dates to about 1000 BC, before the first ramparts. English Heritage: History of Old Oswestry Hillfort
How we handle it: The Atlas team gives around 1000 BC to about AD 700; English Heritage says hillfort building began over 2,600 years ago and dates the Iron Age to 800 BC to AD 43. These fit together: most hillforts are Iron Age, but not all. We give each date with its source.
What were hillforts for?
- 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
- 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
- Iron Age warfare usually took the form of heroic confrontations rather than sieges. English Heritage: History of Maiden Castle
- 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
How we handle it: The sources point to more than one use: defence, display, gatherings and farming. We do not pick one answer.
Who were the dead in Maiden Castle’s eastern gateway?
- 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
How we handle it: English Heritage says “almost certainly” not victims of a Roman assault. That is a judgement on the evidence, so we quote it as theirs.
What were the Caterthuns for?
- 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
- Each Caterthun has many entrances lined up like avenues to the summit, perhaps to control who went where. Historic Environment Scotland: Brown and White Caterthuns, history and stories
How we handle it: Historic Environment Scotland says this is still debated, and the avenue idea is only a “perhaps”.
Were “four-posters” really granaries?
- Square sets of four postholes, called “four-posters”, have been read as raised granaries, keeping grain dry and away from vermin. English Heritage: History of Maiden Castle
- Danebury’s storage pits were dug into the chalk with tools such as mattocks, with a narrow neck and a wider base, then filled with grain and sealed. Hampshire County Council: Danebury Iron Age Hill Fort Local Nature Reserve
How we handle it: Only the postholes survive, so “granary” is an interpretation. Grain was also stored in pits, as at Danebury.
What were the big pits at Old Oswestry for?
- Large rectangular pits flank the western entrance; nobody knows what they were for. English Heritage: Description of Old Oswestry Hillfort
How we handle it: English Heritage says nobody knows. We leave it there.