Wychbury Ring facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wychbury Ring |
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|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Hill fort |
| Town or city | Hagley |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 52°26′00″N 2°07′09″W / 52.43322°N 2.11909°W |
| Construction started | Iron Age |
| Technical details | |
| Size | 7.5 acres (3.0 ha) |
Wychbury Ring is an ancient hill fort built during the Iron Age. It sits on Wychbury Hill, close to Hagley and Stourbridge, right on the edge of the West Midlands and Worcestershire in England. This historic site was once a protected home for people living thousands of years ago.
Contents
Discovering Wychbury Ring
Wychbury Ring is a fascinating place that tells us about life in the past. It's known as a "hill fort" because it was a fortified settlement built on top of a hill. People in the Iron Age used these forts for protection and as places to live.
How Big Is This Ancient Fort?
This impressive fort stretches about 250 m (820 ft) from east to west and 150 m (490 ft) from north to south. That's a huge area, covering about 7.25 acres (2.93 ha)! To keep its residents safe, Wychbury Ring had two strong sets of walls, called ramparts, and deep ditches around them.
The inner rampart, or wall, was very wide, between 16 m (52 ft) and 20 m (66 ft) across. It stood up to 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) tall. Right next to it was an inner ditch, about 10 m (33 ft) wide and 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) deep.
Outside of that, there was another layer of defense. The outer rampart was 10 m (33 ft) wide and could be as tall as 3 m (9.8 ft). It also had an outer ditch, which was 10 m (33 ft) wide and up to 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) deep. Imagine how hard it would have been for anyone to get inside! The fort had special, strong entrances on its eastern and south-western sides.
What Treasures Were Found Here?
Archaeologists and historians have found some interesting items at Wychbury Ring. In 1884, small bronze rings were discovered, including a special Iron Age ring called a terret. Terret rings were often used on horse harnesses.
Even more exciting, Roman coins and pieces of Roman buildings have been found nearby. This suggests that after the Iron Age people lived here, the Romans might have built a Roman Villa (a large country house) close to the fort. These finds help us piece together the long history of this special place.
External links
- Heritage at Risk: Wychbury+Camp
Images for kids
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Eastern end
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Southern rampart
