Maes Knoll Camp

Hill forts developed in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, roughly the start of the first millennium BC. The reason for their emergence in Britain, and their purpose, has been a subject of debate. It has been argued that they could have been military sites constructed in response to invasion from continental Europe, sites built by invaders, or a military reaction to social tensions caused by an increasing population and consequent pressure on agriculture. The dominant view since the 1960s has been that the increasing use of iron led to social changes in Britain. Deposits of iron ore were distant from the tin and copper ore necessary to make bronze, so that trading patterns shifted and the…

The hill fort, which is approximately 390 x, and 45 ft in height, covering 20 acre, consists of a fairly large flat open area, roughly triangular in shape, that has been fortified by ramparts and shaping of the steep-sided hilltop around the northern, eastern and southwestern sides of the hill. It rises to an altitude of 197 m above sea level, and provides views over the lands it would have once commanded. From here, there are clear views north to Bristol, east to Bath and the Cotswold Hills, and south over Stanton Drew stone circles to Chew Valley Lake and the Mendip Hills. The underlying rocks are Inferior Oolite of the Jurassic period.