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>
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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>
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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>
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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>
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