Danebury Iron Age Hill Fort Local Nature Reserve

Life at Danebury in the Iron Age

Life was short and harsh in the Iron Age. Danebury was predominantly a farming community, the people kept sheep and cattle, wove woollen cloth and made leather goods. As Danebury had few natural resources it relied on trade with other areas to get iron, tin, copper, salt, shale and stone. It is likely that woollen products and grain were traded in exchange for these.

A community of 300 to 400 people lived here for more than 400 years. During that time one of their main tasks may have been to protect livestock and grain from attack by raiding parties. Men, women and children may all have had to fight off invaders by hurling sling stones. Warriors fought with swords and sometimes used horse drawn chariots.

At the highest point of the hill there were shrines and temples. Religion was important to the people who lived at Danebury. Their pagan belief was that the gods lived in rivers, trees or other natural features. They made offerings to the gods and sometimes sacrifices. Some of the burials uncovered at Danebury are thought to have been sacrificial. Rituals were carried out by the priests, known as druids, who were respected in the community and acted as a link between the people and their gods. They were also law makers, teachers, storytellers and medicine men.

Beneath the modern fields lie the remains of smaller ancient or Celtic fields. Aerial archaeology has allowed us to map these systems, which appear as ‘crop marks’ or different colours in the soil. It shows that the farmed prehistoric landscape was just as busy as that of today.

Excavations

The Danebury archaeological excavations, led by Professor Barry Cunliffe, from Southampton University, took place between 1969 and 1988. In total 57% of the interior has been excavated. There is evidence of 73 roundhouses, 500 rectangular buildings and thousands of deep storage pits.

The circular houses were for people and the store buildings and pits held grain, their most valuable commodity. The pits were dug from the chalk using tools such as mattocks. They had a narrow entrance or neck with a wider base. The pits were filled with grain and then sealed.

Other archaeological finds include more than 180,000 pieces of pottery, 240,000 bits of bone, stone objects, bone objects and many iron and bronze artefacts. A selection of the finds is on display at the Museum of the Iron Age in Andover.

Site Management at Danebury Iron Age Hill Fort

When Hampshire County Council purchased the hill fort in 1958, the earthworks were covered in beech trees. Most of these trees had reached a stage where they had become unstable due to disease and a long-term program of removal began.

Outside of the earthworks is valuable downland habitat, some of which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The herb rich grassland supports some of our most beautiful blue butterflies.

Contact us

Phone 01962 860948

Email [email protected]

Central Countryside Sites, Crabwood Depot, Sarum Road, Winchester, Hampshire, SO22 5QS