Historic Scotland leads rare tour of Angus hill forts

From the Press and Journal:

VISITORS to two Iron Age monuments in Angus at the weekend had the rare opportunity of taking a guided walk of the sites.

The tour of the Brown and White Caterthuns, about four miles north-east of Brechin, was organised by Historic Scotland as part of Archaeology Month, which runs throughout September. The hill forts perch on top of two prominent hills between Brechin and Edzell and are protected by systems of earthworks and ditches.

Until recently they had been considered as two separate sites but a report, commissioned by Historic Scotland and published last year, revealed there are more similarities between them than was thought. Archaeologists uncovered evidence suggesting that they are part of a single unit.

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Hill fort dates back 3,000 years

From the BBC News:

Archaeologists have discovered that a hill fort in Denbighshire may be almost 3,000 years old.

Experts excavated Moel y Gaer in the Clwydian Range after tests suggested the Iron Age settlement (700 BC to 34 AD) might be older than first thought.

Samples of metal slag and dry stone facing taken from an entrance suggest parts may date back to the Bronze Age (2,300 BC to 700 BC).

It is hoped carbon dating will identify the exact age of the samples.

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Digging up the past at Maiden Castle

From the Dorset Echo:

FAMILIES and history lovers will be blazing a trail to Dorchester for a Bronze Age festival at Maiden Castle.

They will be digging up the past at the ancient monument just outside the county town on the weekend of September 19 and 20.

The free weekend will include living history, arts, crafts and workshops South Dorset Ridgeway Heritage Project officer Sarah Harbige said: “Experimental archaeologists and living history experts will demonstrate aspects of Bronze Age life including metal work, house building, textiles and food.

“Members of the Ancient Wessex Network and guests from further afield will also be on hand to show how the past and landscape continues to inspire artists today.

“There’s even a chance to make your own Bronze Age pottery beaker with Bill Crumbleholme, the Beaker Folk Potter.”

Visitors will also have the chance to meet archaeologists and try their hand at excavating some artefacts on a dig at the site.

On the Sunday, visitors can bring along interesting items and artefacts from home for an expert to identify.

The Portable Antiquities Scheme finds liaison officer will be on the site from 11am to 3.30pm.

Storyteller Graham Rogers will be on hand all weekend with tales of life in ancient times.

Maiden Castle is best known as one of the biggest Iron Age hill forts in Europe.

The Iron Age dates to 2,000 to 3,000 years ago, but Maiden Castle is surrounded by much older sites dating to Bronze Age and Neolithic times.

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Iron Age Fort wins third Sandford Award for education

From Tivyside Advertiser:

A unique visitor attraction in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park has won a prestigious award for education for the third time.

Castell Henllys Iron Age Fort, which is owned and managed by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, has scooped a Sandford Award for Heritage Education. The award is given to heritage sites which offer a high standard of educational services, ranging from Key Stage 1 to university level.

Castell Henllys also won the award in 1999 and 2004. After the initial award is won, sites can reapply every five years. Judges look for progression and development within the educational services offered in the interim years.

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Town hillfort site comes to life

From Denbighshire Free Press:

Since the beginning of the year, Caer Drewyn pupils from years five and six have been hard at work with Patricia of Classical Mosaic and the Heather and Hillforts Project to create a large mosaic, which will be displayed outside Corwen Leisure Centre.

“The aim was to incorporate imagery of the hillfort and its historical Celtic associations, as well as flora and fauna of the area and references to distinctive buildings from the town of Corwen,” said Patricia.

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Secrets of 'unlucky' Bradford hill fort under the microscope

From the Wiltshire Times:

Described by one archaeologist as the unluckiest hill fort in Wiltshire, the Iron Age past of Budbury in Bradford on Avon remains to this day shrouded in mystery.

Local historians have been trying to unlock Budbury’s secrets ever since eminent archaeologist GJ Wainwright uncovered evidence of a substantial hill fort in the area, which is now developed into housing, dating back to as early as 600BC.

Wainwright believed he was on the verge of uncovering a burial mound, so the discovery of the hill fort, thought to cover up to six acres of land, came as a complete surprise.

From Monday, Bradford on Avon Museum will host a three-week long exhibition charting the history of Budbury, which will include 16,000 pieces of Iron Age pottery, as well as needles made out of bone and bronze fingerings, discovered during Wainwright’s excavation on loan from the Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes.

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