Cadbury Hill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cadbury Hill |
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The view from the Yatton side of Cadbury Hill
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 81 m (266 ft) |
| Prominence | 26 m (85 ft) |
| Geography | |
| Location | North Somerset, England |
| OS grid | ST442649 |
| Topo map | OS Landrangers 171, 172 |
Cadbury Hill is a small hill in North Somerset, England. It's mostly in the area called Congresbury, and it looks over the nearby village of Yatton. At the very top of Cadbury Hill, you'll find the remains of an ancient Iron Age hill fort. This old fort is so important that it's protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
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Discovering Cadbury Hill Fort
Cadbury Hill is home to an amazing ancient site. Archaeologists, who study old things, call this specific fort Cadbury-Congresbury. This helps them tell it apart from another famous fort called Cadbury Castle in South Cadbury.
What is a Hill Fort?
Hill forts are ancient strongholds built on hills. People started building them a very long time ago, around 3,000 years ago, during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. Imagine a time when there were no big cities or police forces. People needed safe places.
Historians and archaeologists have different ideas about why these forts were built:
- Some think they were military bases to defend against invaders.
- Others believe they were built by invaders themselves.
- A popular idea is that as more people lived in Britain, there was less land for farming. This caused tensions, and hill forts became places where communities could protect themselves during conflicts.
A famous archaeologist named Barry Cunliffe suggests that while forts could be used for defense during fights, they weren't always built because of war. He thinks they were more like safe havens for communities when times were tough.
Building the Fort
The Cadbury-Congresbury hill fort was built during the Iron Age. People constructed strong walls and ditches around the steep sides of the hill. These defenses protected an area about the size of eight and a half football fields! Inside the fort, you can still see traces of where round houses once stood. These were the homes of the people who lived there.
Around the year 400 AD, the fort was made even stronger. People continued to live there into the time after the Roman Empire left Britain. Archaeologists have found many pieces of pottery from other countries, which suggests that important or wealthy people lived at Cadbury Hill. Some even think it might have been a monastery founded by Saint Congar, after whom the nearby village of Congresbury is named.
What Archaeologists Found
From 1968 to 1973, archaeologists carefully dug up parts of Cadbury Hill. They found many interesting things, including:
- Hundreds of pieces of pottery that came from the Mediterranean region.
- About 48 pieces of glass vessels.
These discoveries show that Cadbury Hill was likely a very important settlement. It was probably home to powerful leaders or a wealthy community.
Wildlife at Cadbury Hill
Cadbury Hill isn't just important for its history; it's also a special place for nature! It's known as a Local Nature Reserve. This means it's protected for its wildlife and natural beauty.
Nature's Comeback
In 2009, a group called the Yatton & Congresbury Wildlife Action Group (YACWAG) helped restore an old pond on the hill. This pond was built in the 1800s for farm animals but had become hidden by plants. Now, it's a great spot for local wildlife.
Plants and Animals You Might See
The nature reserve has different types of habitats:
- Ancient woodlands: These are very old forests.
- Scrub: Areas with bushes and small trees.
- Grassland: Open grassy areas that haven't been changed by farming.
You might spot some interesting species here, such as:
- Birds: Marsh tit, green woodpeckers (who love to eat ants from the many ant hills on the fort).
- Mammals: Noctule bat.
- Reptiles: Slow worm.
- Flowers: Wood anemone, bluebell, betony, small scabious, rock rose, and small-leaved lime trees. On the northern side of the hill, you can see hundreds of beautiful common spotted orchids.
The grassy top of the hill fort is looked after by the Yatton and Congresbury Parish Councils. The rest of the hill, including a car park and an old quarry that was filled in, is managed by North Somerset Council.
