Croft Ambrey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Croft Ambrey |
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| Aymestrey Near Leominster in UK |
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Croft Ambrey at the north
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| Area | 32 acres |
Croft Ambrey is an ancient hill fort from the Iron Age in Herefordshire, England. It's like a very old, fortified village built on a hill.
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Where is Croft Ambrey?
Croft Ambrey is found on Yatton Hill in Aymestrey, England. It's about 6 miles (10 km) north of Leominster. This old fort sits on high ground next to Croft Castle parkland. The Mortimer Trail, a popular walking path, goes right past it.
What Does Croft Ambrey Look Like?
Croft Ambrey is a hill fort with many layers of defenses. It has a roughly triangular shape. On the north side, it has two steep slopes and a hidden ditch. To the west, there are three large banks of earth and a deep ditch inside. The south side also has three banks and two ditches, plus a wide inner ditch that might have held water.
There were two main entrances to the fort. Over time, these entrances were rebuilt many times, with up to 20 different gateposts. They also had special features like guardrooms and corridors. The main entrance was on the southwest side.
The fort started out covering about 2.2 hectares (5.4 acres). But it grew over time to 3.6 hectares (8.9 acres). Later, a rectangular area was added to the south. This new area was surrounded by two smaller banks.
What Did We Learn from Digging?
Archaeologists dug at Croft Ambrey between 1960 and 1966. They found that people lived there from about 600 BC until 48 AD. Inside the fort, there were many rectangular buildings built close together. These buildings were rebuilt up to six times!
Experts believe that between 500 and 900 people lived in the hill fort. They found many interesting objects during the digs. These included:
- Metal tools: Iron tools, weapons, sickles, blades, and nails.
- Other items: Objects made from shale and glass, and things made from bone and antler.
- Everyday items: Spindle whorls (used for spinning thread), loom weights (used for weaving), and thatch weights (used for roofs).
- Food preparation tools: Saddle querns and rotary querns (types of hand mills for grinding grain).
- Stones: Hammer stones.
- Pottery: Pieces of Iron Age pottery.
Croft Ambrey is similar to another hill fort called Wapley Hill. Both places were also used for raising rabbits in later times.
Images for kids
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Croft Ambrey at the north
