Table Of ContentThe Forts of Celtic Britain
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Contents
Introduction 4
Chronology 7
Types of fortified sites 8
Location
Design and construction 14
Hill-forts:form and function • Buildingthe hill-forts • The designofbrochs
Tour of a fortified site: Danebury 24
The living site 30
Maiden Castle • The developmentofthefortifications • Thesettlement • Theeconomicand politicalcentre
Celtic fortifications in operation 42
Theprinciplesofdefence • The defenceofahill-fort
Aftermath 52
The sites today 56
Scotland • England • Wales
Bibliography 62
Glossary 63
Index 64
Introduction
Before beginningany discussion of'the forts ofCelticBritain', it is important to
try todefine justwhatconstitutedaCelticfort, and whothe Celtsactuallywere.
Wealso need to know when they builtthe fortified structureswhich stilldot the
landscapeofmodern Britain- ifindeedtheywereresponsibleforsuchstructures.
Archaeologists and historians are unable to define whether Britain truly was
Celtic, who the Celts actually were, or whether many of their 'forts' were really
designed as military enclosures. Some archaeologists even categorize the stone
built brochs of northern Scotland as cattle sheds; in truth, they are more like
medieval stone keeps.
Identifying who the Celts were is something of a historical minefield, the
evidence being drawn from the accounts of classical writers, the surviving
archaeological remains, and traces of linguistic links which can still be found on
the'Celticfringe'ofIreland,Wales,Cornwall, BrittanyandtheScottish Highlands.
Unfortunately, these three strands fail to proVideall the answers, and sometimes
contradicteachother.Thefirstclassical referencestotheCeltsbyGreek historians
occur in the 6th century BC, when the people called the 'Keltoi' were identified
as occupying the lands to the north of the Greek peninsula. The Keltoi raided
into Greece and Italy, and in 390 BC they even sacked Rome. The Romans
subsequently paid more attention to their neighbours, particularly after the
former expanded into northern Italy and the French Mediterranean coast. They
described the people they encountered as the Celts (or Galli in Latin). Some
historians,suchasPosidonius(whoseworkswerepassedonbylatercopyists),may
Uffington Castle,Berkshire.This
evenhavelivedamongtheCeltswhilelearningwhathecouldabouttheirculture.
substantial hill-fortwasconstructed
around 700 BC,and encompasses In the mid-1stcenturyBC,Julius Caesar proVidedamore detailed description
an areaofapproximately nineacres. ofthe elts (orGauls) ofwhat is now Francein hisDeBelltlll1 Gallico(TheGallic
Awhite horsesymbol cutinto the War). He began with his now famous account ofthe land he conquered:
chalkhillsideadjacentto the hill
fort pre-dates thefort itself,and
All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the
suggests thatUffington may have
Aquitani another, those who in their own language are called Celts, or in
servedas asiteofboth political
and religious significance.(Author's our languageGauls, the third. All these differ from each otherin language,
collection) customs and laws.
4
Unfortunately neitherCaesar,Strabo, noranyotherclassicalwriterhad much
to sayofthe Celts who lived in Britain. Instead we have to rely on linguisticor
archaeological evidence. Elements of what was once a pan-European Celtic
language still survive on the 'Celtic fringe' of Europe, where Welsh, Irish and
Scots Gaelic all share the same linguistic roots. It was the 18th-century Welsh
scholar Edward Lhuyd who first identified this Celtic linguistic tradition, and
who first established the existenceofafinite Celticculture. Indeed itwas Lhuyd
who resurrected the word 'Celtic', which coincided with the emergingevidence
produced through the new scienceofarchaeology.
Fromthe mid-19thcenturyonwards, archaeologistsbegantounearthartefacts
that were attributed to the Celts - as defined by Lhuyd. Two sites in particular
came to be associated with particular phases ofCeltic cultural development: the
Late Bronze Age site at Hallstatt in Austria, and the Iron Age religious site at La
TeneinSwitzerland,whereCelticvotiveofferingswere recovered from thewaters
of Lake eufchatel. Subsequently both sites gave their name to cultural phases
intowhichallmaterialevidenceattributed totheCeltswas placed. However, this
was not the whole story. As evidence ofthe earlier Hallstatt phasecan be found
in some parts of Europe and not in others, archaeologists presumed that the
Celtic sphere of influence expanded during the Iron Age to cover all of France,
Spain, Britain, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria and parts of Italy and a swathe of
Eastern European countries traversed by the River Danube. However, recent
archaeological evidence has shown that even during the Late Bronze Age the
indigenous (and presumably non-Celtic) peoples of Britain maintained cultural
and commercial links with the Celtic peopleson the European mainland. While
artefacts helpexplain linksbetween different regions intheCelticworld, theydo
littleto help us understand how the indigenous population ofBritain interacted
with the Celtic incomers from the Late BronzeAgeonwards. In otherwords, the
division between theCeltsandthosethatcamebeforethem issomewhatblurred.
The only clear archaeological evidence we can find is the remains of pre-Celtic
and post-Celticsettlements, religious centresand defensive works.
Whileinrecentyearsarchaeologistsandhistorianshavebecomemorehesitant
in defining exactlywho or what the Celtswere, there is at leastsome agreement
on when they lived in Britain. The Celts were essentially an Iron Age culture, a
term first devised by Danish antiquarians to help them catalogue their museum
collections. Today the British Iron Age is used as shorthand for the period from
around 700BC(when theproductionofiron first took placein Britain) until just
after the Roman invasion ofsouthern England in AD 43. Even these parameters
are far from fixed: for example, it is generally held that in Scotland, where the
Theearthen rampartofUffington
Castle.Archaeological evidence has
shown thatwhen itwasfirst built
theditchwas three metres deeper
than itis today.(Author'scollection) 5
While the basicshapeofUffington
Castle'sdefensive line is pentagonal,
the ditch and rampartcurve in
places to takeadvantage ofminor
changes in the contours.When
first builtthe rampartwould have
been topped byasimplewooden
palisade.(Author'scollection)
Romanpenetrationwaslimited,the IronAgecontinueduntilthe5thcenturyAD.
Forthe purposesofthis bookwewill limit thestudyofCelticfortifications toan
evenbrieferperiod- from around500BCuntilafewdecadesafterthefirst Roman
invasion of Britain, c. AD 80, when most of mainland Britain had fallen under
Roman control. WhiletheCelticperiod continued much laterinScotland, Wales
and Ireland, the nature of 'Dark Age' Celtic fortifications is a subject worthy of
another study, and will therefore remain outside the boundaries of this book,
Similarly, the author has avoided coverage ofIreland, a land with its own Celtic
tale to tell, which isonceagain de ervingofitsown book.
o part of the surviving physical remains of Iron Age Celtic Britain is more
spectacular that the fortifications that still dot the British landscape, from
the great earthen hill-forts of southern England (such as Maiden Castle) to the
imposing stone-built brochs of northern Scotland. While none of these were
strongenough tokeepoutadeterminedattack bythe Roman war machine, they
stilldominated the landscape,andtothepre-Roman peopleofCelticBritainthey
would have represented the ultimate statement in political, military and social
power.ThisbookwillproVideabriefsurveyofthetypesoffortifications used,and
will show how they developed over time and how they changed from region to
region. It is also hoped that, in some way, it will explain how these great
fortifications weredefended, in their roleasthelast bastionsofCelticcivilization
in Britain.
6
Chronology
ote: all the dates provided below for the general phases of archaeological
periods are open to interpretation. They represent the broad consensus of
archaeologists and historians.
2100 BC Early BronzeAge begins.
2000 BC Thefirst hilltop enclosures are builtin Britain.
1750 BC Middle BronzeAge begins.
1323 BC Death ofKingTutankhamen in Egypt.
1000 BC Late BronzeAge period begins.
800 BC Widespread production of'beaker' pottery in Britain.
700 BC Early IronAge period begins.DevelopmentofCeltic Hallstattculture
inAustria.
600 BC Culture known as'IronAgeA' arrives in Britain.Widespread building
ofhill-forts throughout Britain.Flourishingofculture inAncientGreece.
500 BC Middle IronAge period.Culture known as'IronAge B' arrives in Britain.
Celtic immigration into Britain- generalgrowth ofBritish population.
400 BC Dateassociated with the first spread ofbrochs in northern Scotland.
FirstappearanceofCeltic LaTime artefacts in Britain.
200 BC Date regarded as representing the high pointofCeltic culture in Europe.
150 BC Culture known as'IronAge C' arrives in Britain.Rise oflarge tribal
kingdoms in Britain;period ofwarfare and general unrest.Many hill-fort
defences are extensively improved.
100 BC Late IronAge period.Firstwheel-made pottery produced in Britain.
60 BC Julius Caesar begins his ten-year conquestofGaul.Migration ofthe Belgic
people (Belgae) to Britain.
AD 43 The Roman invasion ofBritain- the beginningofthe Roman occupation.
AD 47 Roman rule consolidated south ofthe riversTrentand Severn.
AD 49 Roman invasion ofWales.
AD 60 Date by which most hill-forts in southern Britain are abandoned.
AD 82 The Roman invasion ofScotland.
AD 122 BuildingofHadrian'sWall.
AD 410 End ofthe Roman occupation ofBritain.Beginningofthe period known
as'Sub-Roman Britain'.
AD 500 End ofthe IronAge in Scotland.Generallyaccepted date for the
beginningofthe Early Historic Period.
The westerngatewayat Uffington
Castleissimplerthan in many hill
forts,although its nature has been
altered in the lasttwo centuries.
Aramp (seen in theforeground)
crosses the ditch,leadingtoa
second smaller rampartand ditch
structure located where thefigures
arestanding.(Author'scollection) 7
Types of fortified sites
Although hill-forts and brochs are the most commonly found type of Celtic
fortification in Britain, other types of fortified sites existed in tandem with
them. The scope of this book precludes a study ofthe less defensible of these,
such as lake villages and crannogs, largely because these structures lacked any
obvious means ofdefence save their encirclement by water. Although the lake
village at Glastonbury, Somerset was surrounded by a wooden palisade, it was
probably notdesigned to keep intrudersout butratheras a protectivebarrierto
preventchildrenand animals falling intothesurroundinglake. Similarlywhile
buildings built over the water, such as Oakbank Crannog in Scotland's Loch
Tay, may well have been defensible for ashort time, itlacked the protection to
keep determined attackers at bay. For the purposes of this study we shall
concentrateon the Celticsitesthat appearto have been designed with defence
in mind.
Celtic fortifications come in a variety of types, although with the possible
exception of brochs they all share certain characteristics. Over the years
archaeologists have developed terminologythat helps them classifythe intricate
This map ofthe promontoryfortat
systems of ditches and banks they encounter. These are often augmented with
Burghead.Moraywas drawn up by
the 18th-centurymilitarysurveyor more widely understood fortification terms to help explain how these features
GeneralWilliam Roy.Although the were supposed to work. For example, many archaeologists use the words 'bank'
fortwas associatedwith the Piers. and 'rampart' interchangeably, but to be more accurate the fortification term
itwasalmostcertainly builtearlier. 'rampart' should really only be applied to the innermost bank surrounding the
duringthe Late IronAge.Much of
fort's enclosure. If a fort is enclosed by a single circuit of bank and ditch, it is
thefortwas destroyed duringthe
described as a 'univallate' fort. More complex fortifications are described as
expansion ofthe town soonafter
'bivallate' (if they have two such lines ofdefence), 'trivallate' (ifthey have three
Royproduced his drawing.(Society
ofAntiquaries.London) circuits of bank and ditch), and 'multivallate' (if the fort is defended by more
than three linesofdefence). Ifthe banksaresetclose
together they are described as 'compact', while the
oppositeare regarded as 'dispersed'.
Given therangeofdifferenttypesoffortifications,
mostfall intofourgeneralcategories.Thefirstarethe
pure hill-forts, whose defences are placed to make
, bestuseoftheterrain.Theperimeteroftheenclosure
follows thecontoursofthe hilltopon which the fort
is built, and consequently these fortifications are
rarely circularoreven regular. Instead the lines bend
in accordance with the shape of the hill. The result
is an irregularly shaped defensive pOSition, but one
that makes best possible use ofthe lieof the land. A
variationon thisisthe headlandorpromontoryforts
found on rocky spurs of coastline where the site
could be made defensible with relatively little work.
InsitessuchasBurgheadinMoray,Scotland,orRame
Head in Cornwall these fortifications close off the
landward sideofa headland by meansofadefensive
bank and ditch system similar to that found in hill
forts. The only difference is that on the remaining
sides ofthe defended position the sea itselfproVides
a natural barrier to attackers. It is worth noting that
forts of this kind are not always found on the coast.
8 OnrareoccasionswheretheterrainproVidesasimilar
advantagefar from thesea, suchas at theconfluenceoftwo large rivers, asimilar
position could also beestablished. An example ofthis is the Iron Age settlement
atDykeHillsin Oxfordshire,wheretheRiverThamemeetsthe RiverThames near
modern-dayDorchester-on-Thames.Thereabivallatedefensivelinewascreatedto
protectthesettlement, whilethetworiversprotectedthe remainingthreesidesof
thesite.
Avariant on the hill-fort is what has unsatisfactorily been described as the
plateau fort, orvalley fort. These are similarto the more common hill-forts, but
were builton sitesthat possessed no defensive advantages such asslopesoreven
rivers. Insteadtheyhad torelyontheirownman-madedefencesto keepattackers
at bay. The only real advantage of this type of fortification seems to be that in
many cases the enclosure included a natural spring, so that, unlike many hill
forts, thedefenders had accesstowaterandthusintheorycould betterwithstand
asiege.Oftentheseappeartohavebeenbuiltinareasofgoodfarmland, invalleys
oron broad ridges where no moreobviouslydefensible feature wasavailable. An
exampleofthis typeofearlyIron Agefort is Rainsborough in Northamptonshire,
which wasexcavated duringthe 1960s.Therethe fortification stood on the edge
of a plateau, where the ground then fell away gently into the Cherwell Valley
below. It enclosed an area ofsome 2.5 hectares, and although its defences were
univallate, the archaeologists uncovered traces of an outer bank that had been
filled inatsomestageduringthefort'soccupation.Theoccupantsmayhavecome
to regret the siting oftheir fort: archaeologists also uncovered evidence that the
gateway had been destroyed by fire, and askeleton was found amid the burned
ruins ofaguardhouse. The inference is ofcourse that the fort was attacked and
captured probablyatsome pointin the 3rdcenturyBC.
Anotherdistinctgroup offorts comprises those that wereclearly builtas non
defensible enclosures, probablyto house livestockor to provideaseasonal home
for afarming community. Sitesofthis kind were often builton thesidesofa hill
or inaflat area, and often involved multipleenclosures encirclingacentral area.
While not primarily designed as a defensive position, these could serve as an
emergency refuge in time of danger. Examples of forts of this type include
Lordenshaws in orthumberland and Clovelly Dykes in Devon, and they are
generallylocatedineitherthenorthofEngland,thesouth-west, orinthewestern
The IronAge hill-fortatWoden Law
in theScottish Borderswas built
in three phases,and in itsfinal form
consisted ofadouble rampartand
ditch.Thecurvingdouble bankin
theforeground has been identified
as a Roman siegework,suggesting
thatthesmall hill-fortmighthave
been besieged duringAgricola's
campaign insouthern Scotland
aroundADS0-SI.(RCAHMS) 9
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