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South Cadbury provides an interesting example of
the occupation and fortification of a hill-top site, with a perimeter of about
1200 yards, over a period of about 4000 years. It was first occupied by
Neolithic people from about 3000 B.C. and then, after long abandonment, it was
the site of a Bronze Age homestead from about 800 B.C. The first really
effective defences were built about 500 B.C. and South Cadbury gradually
became a strongly defended town of the Iron Age Celtic Britons. It was
captured by the Romans in A.D. 44 but re-fortified during the Dark Ages, and
also by the Saxons who re-established it as a town with an emergency mint.
Recent excavations have revealed all these stages but it is the occupation and
fortification during the Iron Age which is of most concern here. Pottery finds
in a long sequence indicate a flourishing Celtic settlement continuing without
a break from the Bronze Age occupation. Beside the pottery there were bronze
brooches, glass and amber beads, armlets of black shale, spinning and weaving
equipment as well as a few Celtic coins. The foundation trench of a large
round house and the ring trenches of seven smaller ones, together with two
small kilns used to parch grain to prevent its germination during storage, and
numerous post-holes and storage pits, revealed evidence of domestic life.
Close by, the furnace and quenching pits of an armourer's workshop were
found, associated with a number of weapons. A small rectangular Iron Age
temple or shrine, consisting of an inner sanctum and outer porch, was found,
in front of which lay the fully articulated skeletons of young calves which
had been ritually slaughtered. Sections cut through the defences showed that
at least four modifications had been carried out, and the remains of timber
slots on the highest bank indicate how this was strengthened with a timber
facing and a protective breastwork. Several hoards of slingstones formed part
of the reserve prepared against sudden attack. The main gateway at the
south-west corner of the defences had an indirect but very steep approach
through narrowed banks to a timber gate, of which the iron collar and bearing,
indicating a very strong construction, have been found. The weakest part of
all these hill-forts was at the entrance, and timber guard houses or towers,
were probably built on either side of the gates. When excavated, this area
showed clear evidence of destruction by fire and the massacre of a group of
inhabitants.
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On many of the south-facing hillsides in most
parts of Somerset there can still be seen the outlines of groups of small
fields enclosed within low banks and averaging about an acre in area. These
were given the name 'Celtic fields' by archaeologists many years ago, but
are now thought to have been originally made in the Bronze Age and adopted by
Iron Age farmers who found their shape and size suitable for their own type of
simple plough. This had neither coulter nor mould-board and could only break
up a surface roughly. The field was first ploughed in one direction and then
again at right angles to achieve a good tilth for sowing. Small rectangular
fields suited this form of cross-ploughing best. The heavier Belgic plough
with a coulter could turn a furrow, and probably destroyed all evidence of
these fields on lower ground. Those still surviving are being studied by a new
generation of archaeologists who are interested in the development of
agriculture.
By the time of the Roman conquest of Britain
there is clear evidence to show that not only had the people living in this
area mastered the art of agriculture and the making of woollen and linen
fabrics for clothes, but they had also developed skills in the making of
pottery, woodwork and metalwork, which they decorated with symmetrical designs
of exceptional artistic quality. To maintain this they needed, above all, long
periods of peace, which they found impossible to achieve. The building of
hill-forts and the fighting they imply must have restricted considerably their
progress towards a higher standard of life. |
Sketch of Cadbury Castle