Maen Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Maen Castle |
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Entrance to Maen Castle
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| Location | Sennen, Cornwall, England |
| Built | Iron Age |
| Reference no. | 421208 |
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Maen Castle is an ancient cliff castle found near Land's End in Cornwall, England. It was built during the Iron Age, a time when people started using iron tools. This special type of fort is also called a promontory fort because it sits on a piece of land that sticks out into the sea, with cliffs protecting it on most sides.
Maen Castle is quite important because it's one of only two places in Cornwall where archaeologists have found pottery from the Early Iron Age. This tells us a lot about the people who lived there long ago.
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Discovering Maen Castle's Past
Archaeologists are like history detectives. They dig up old sites to learn about how people lived in the past. At Maen Castle, these digs happened in 1939 and again from 1948 to 1949.
What Was Found?
During these excavations, about 300 pieces of broken pottery were found. These small pieces, called sherds, are like puzzle pieces that help experts understand the daily lives of the Iron Age people. Finding these specific types of pottery helps us know that people lived here during the early part of the Iron Age.
How Maen Castle Was Protected
The people who built Maen Castle chose its location very carefully. They used the natural landscape to help defend themselves.
Natural Defenses of the Cliff Castle
The castle is built on a headland, which is a narrow strip of land with steep cliffs. On two sides, the cliffs are almost straight down, making it very hard for enemies to attack. The third side has a very steep slope, which also made it difficult to climb.
Man-Made Fortifications
To protect the landward side (the part connected to the main land), the Iron Age builders added strong defenses. These included:
- A stone rampart: This was a large wall or bank made of stones.
- A ditch: A deep trench dug in front of the rampart.
- A counterscarp bank: Another bank of earth or stone on the outer side of the ditch.
These layers of protection made it very hard for anyone to get into the castle. There are also signs that people might have lived on this spot even before these strong defenses were built.
