Maiden Castle, North Yorkshire

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Maiden Castle
Maiden Castle - geograph.org.uk - 892217.jpg
Earthworks at Maiden Castle
North Yorkshire UK location map (2023).svg
Red pog.svg
Location within North Yorkshire
General information
Town or city Grinton, North Yorkshire
CountryEngland
Coordinates 54°22′42″N1°58′04″W / 54.37826°N 1.967872°W / 54.37826; -1.967872
Technical details
Size7,000 m2 (1.7 acres)

Maiden Castle is a settlement in Grinton, North Yorkshire (grid reference SE02189808 ) which probably dates from the Iron Age. It is listed as a scheduled monument. [1] [2] The name Maiden Castle is not unique to the site and occurs in several other places in Britain and probably means a "fortification that looks impregnable" or one that has never been taken in battle. [3]

The site measures 108 by 88 m (354 by 289 ft), covering about 7,000 m2 (1.7 acres), and is pear-shaped. An avenue leading to the entrance of the settlement is a unique feature. Maiden Castle has been described as a banjo enclosure due to its shape, however this description has been disputed. [1] If it is a banjo enclosure, it would be one of just two in northern England, the other being Fremington Dykes. [1]

The only dating evidence recovered from Maiden Castle is a "post-and-panel building" which is typologically similar to a structure discovered in Healaugh that has been dated to the late Iron Age or Romano-British periods. [1]

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 Historic England. "Maiden Castle (48766)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 1 August 2009.
  2. Historic England. "Maiden Castle prehistoric defended settlement and adjacent round barrow (1012609)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  3. Mills (1977), p. 377.
Bibliography