Littledean Camp

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Little Dean Camp is a ruined castle in the small town of Lydney in the English county of Gloucestershire . The castle was known for its unique early Norman construction.

The castle was previously thought to date from Roman times, but archaeological research in the 20th century has shown that the castle was built in the 11th century after the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The castle stood on a hill above the Severn Valley and the settlement of Littledean . In addition to protecting the surrounding villages, the castle, along with those at Glasshouse Woods and Howle Hill Camp, probably served as a shield for the city of Gloucester against military attacks from Wales .

The castle itself was circular and relatively small, about 20 meters in diameter. It had an inner and an outer courtyard, the latter protected by a very high valley . Earthworks four meters high are still preserved from this outer vallum ; originally the Vallum must have been five meters high. The integration of the mound into the outer valley instead of a position in the middle of the castle was unique for a castle from this period . The building on the mound was probably a combination of a lookout and a donjon . The original entrance to the castle was on the south side.

Littledean Camp was not used for long. At the time of the anarchy in the middle of the 12th century, the castle had been abandoned for several years; it was called the "Old Castle of Dean".

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c C. Scott-Garrett: Littledean Camp in Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society . Issue 77 (1958). P. 58. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  2. ^ A b C. Scott-Garrett: Littledean Camp in Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society . Issue 77 (1958). P. 48. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  3. ^ C. Scott-Garrett: Littledean Camp in Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society . Issue 77 (1958). Pp. 59-60. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  4. ^ C. Scott-Garrett: Littledean Camp in Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society . Issue 77 (1958). Pp. 48-49. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  5. ^ C. Scott-Garrett: Littledean Camp in Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society . Issue 77 (1958). P. 49. Retrieved July 6, 2016.

Coordinates: 51 ° 43 ′ 10 "  N , 2 ° 33 ′ 18"  W.