Dorset, England

Maiden Castle is an Iron Age hill fort. It is located 2 miles south of Dorchester in Dorset County. The earthworks covered an area about 180,000 square meters and it was 6 meters high. It is the largest hill fort in Europe.

The name 'Maiden' may have been derived from the 'Brythonic' for great hill, 'mai dun'.

Excavations have dated the Neolithic enclosure back to about 4000 B.C. The bank and ditch and bank barrow burial mound are evident from this period.

An earlier Iron Age hillfort dating back to about 600 B.C. was extended and enlarged between c. 450 to 300 B.C. Three new ditch-and-bank earthworks were built for the main fortifications which were in sets of three concentric rings with offset entrance points.

At the time of the Roman invasion, the Durotriges, (a Celtic tribe) very likely occupied the fort. While the Romans held the site their efforts were concentrated around Durnovaria. Some Roman construction was found at the site which included a small temple built around 400 A.D. Maiden Castle remained in use until the Roman conquest of Britain.

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