Road Castle facts for kids

Road Castle is an ancient site in Somerset, England. It's a type of old fort called a hill fort, built during the Iron Age. This special place is found about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the village of Winsford.

Road Castle is made up of a large bank and a ditch. It has a shape that is almost square, but with rounded corners. The whole area it covers is about 0.7 acres (0.28 hectares). Today, it is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

What is a Hill Fort?

A hill fort is a type of ancient settlement or fort. People built them on top of hills or other high ground. This gave them a good view of the area around them. It also made them easier to defend.

When Were Hill Forts Built?

Most hill forts in Britain were built during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. This was roughly around the start of the first millennium BC. That's a very long time ago!

Why Did People Build Hill Forts?

Historians and archaeologists have different ideas about why hill forts were built. Some think they were military sites. They might have been built to protect against invaders from other parts of Europe. Others believe they were built because of fighting between different groups of people in Britain. This fighting might have happened as the population grew. More people meant more pressure on things like farmland.

Many experts now think that the discovery of iron changed society a lot. Iron was found in different places than the metals used for bronze. This changed how people traded goods. Old leaders might have lost their power. New groups of people became important.

Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe believes that more people living in an area played a big part. He thinks hill forts offered a safe place for communities. They could use them when tensions turned into open warfare. But he also says they weren't just built because there was a constant war. They were useful strongholds when problems arose. Some forts were attacked and destroyed. But this wasn't the only reason they were built.