Barbury Castle
| Barbury Castle | ||
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 Preserved ramparts in the western part of the excavation site |
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| Creation time : | approx. 600 BC Chr. | |
| Conservation status: | Excavations | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 29 ′ 7 ″ N , 1 ° 47 ′ 9 ″ W | |
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Barbury Castle is a Celtic hill fort from the Iron Age around 600 BC. Near Swindon , Wiltshire , UK .
location
Barbury Castle is about 7 km south of Swindon, away from all today's villages in the middle of the triangle Wroughton , Marlborough , Avebury at the west end of a ridge on the north edge of the Marlborough Hills (Marlborough Downs). It is located in the grassland in the middle of a Country Park (since 1971) or Local Nature Reserve (since 2004)
description
The Hillfort consists of two, in some places up to four concentric ramparts, which are separated from each other by ditches. The height difference between the valley floor and the ridge is still more than 8 m in places. In the west and east the walls are broken through to allow level access. In the east, the entrance is protected by two significantly smaller semicircular rings. The inner diameter in east-west direction is almost 200 m, in north-south direction about 120 m, the area including the ramparts is a little more than 11 acres (approx. 4.5 ha )
history
The complex was built by a Celtic tribe from the Iron Age around 600 BC. Created as protection against hostile neighboring tribes.
In addition to finds from the Iron Age, objects from the Roman era were also found during excavations, without any further evidence that the site was inhabited by Romans.
Web links
- www.windon.gv.uk (English)
- www.bbc.co.uk (English)