View SW of the ditch & bank at the N end of Casterley Camp Iron Age 'hillfort', Upavon, Wiltshire; England, UK: a defended Celtic religious sanctuary.


View SW of the ditch & bank at the N end of Casterley Camp Iron Age 'hillfort', Upavon, Wiltshire; England, UK: more of a sacred enclosure than a genuinely defensible hillfort. The area enclosed is some hectares, its situation defensively poor, the single bank & ditch were impressive at the S but poorly sited, not uniform & were unfinished. There are entrances at the N, SE & SW. A causeway 5 metres wide led up to the SE gateway wide between two pairs of posts apart front to rear. There was a system of Late Iron Age ditched enclosures near the centre of the earthwork; some of these ditches were older than the surrounding rampart. A large pit at the centre of the oval enclosure in this complex contained an upright post almost one metre across surrounded by 14 red deer antlers & four human skeletons. It is possible that a Celtic religious sanctuary was hastily defended around the time of the Roman conquest (AD43). Use of the complex continued into the Roman period. The Camp is situated on the edge of an MOD Danger Area N of the Larkhill Artillery Range.


Size: 3785px × 4961px
Location: Casterley Camp, Upavon, Devizes, Wiltshire, England, UK
Photo credit: © Mick Sharp / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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