Crowned by tall Scots Pine, Penbury Hill, is shown on OS maps as a hillfort, though walking around it I'm not so sure; a fortified settlement of some kind yes, but a hillfort, no. Placed as it is on a prominent ridge, which in Iron Age would have been on the border of three powerful tribes, I see it more as a trading post, neutral ground maybe. There's evidence of enclosures, maybe for stock, on the slopes just below the settlement, a settlement of quite small size, with defences which are only slight and appear to cover only one direction, as it happens the easiest to defended without defences direction and therefore the 'defences' maybe more for show than actual defence. Nothing like the hillforts of the area. It's a beautiful setting, with views for many miles in all directions, a natural meeting place overlooking a landscape rich in archaeological sites, the importance of the surrounding land wouldn't have been lost on the inhabitants of Penbury. I wonder if the site has been excavated? I would like to see the reports. Anyway, whatever, it's a lovely site set in a spectacular landscape.
No comments:
Post a Comment