Maiden Castle is an Iron Age hill fort 2.5 km (1.6 mi) south of Dorchester, in the English county of Dorset. Hill forts were fortified hill-top settlements constructed across Britain during the Iron Age. The earliest archaeological evidence of human activity on the site consists of a Neolithic causewayed enclosure and bank barrow. In about 1800 BC, during the Bronze Age, the site was used for growing crops before being abandoned. Maiden Castle itself was built in about 600 BC; the early phase was a simple and unremarkable site, similar to many other hill forts in Britain and covering 64,000 m2 (690,000 sq ft). Around 450 BC it underwent major expansion, during which the enclosed area was nearly tripled in size to 190,000 m2 (2,000,000 sq ft), making it the largest hill fort in Britain and by some definitions the largest in Europe. In around 100 BC habitation at the hill fort went into decline and became focused at the eastern end of the site. It was occupied until at least the Roman period, and by this time was in the territory of the Durotriges, a Celtic tribe. After the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century AD, Maiden Castle appears to have been abandoned, although the Romans may have had a military presence on the site. In the 1930s, archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler undertook the first archaeological excavations at Maiden Castle, raising its profile among the public. Today the site is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and is maintained by English Heritage.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maiden_Castle%2C_Dorset

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1786:

Michel-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat completed the first recorded ascent of Mont Blanc in the Alps, one of the highest mountains in Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Blanc

1870:

Liberal radicals in Ploieşti, Romania revolted against Romanian Domnitor Carol I, only to be arrested the next day. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ploie%C5%9Fti

1918:

The Battle of Amiens (1918) began in Amiens, France, marking the start of the Allied Powers' Hundred Days Offensive through the German front lines that ultimately led to the end of World War I. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Amiens_%281918%29

1963:

In one of the largest robberies in British history, a gang of 15 train robbers stole £2.6 million in bank notes at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn, Buckinghamshire, England. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Train_Robbery_%281963%29

1988:

The 8888 Uprising, a series of marches, demonstrations, protests, and riots against the one-party state of the Burma Socialist Programme Party in Burma, began. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8888_Uprising

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

hypercorrection (n): (linguistics) The use of a nonstandard form due to a belief that it is more formal or more correct than the corresponding standard form http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hypercorrection

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

If I am peaceful, I shall see

Beauty's face continually; Feeding on her wine and bread I shall be wholly comforted,

For she can make one day for me Rich as my lost eternity. --Sara Teasdale http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sara_Teasdale