84-463: Eddisbury hill fort , also known as Castle Ditch , is an Iron Age hill fort near Delamere, Cheshire , in northern England. Hill forts are fortified hill-top settlements constructed across Britain during the Iron Age . Eddisbury is the largest and most complex of the seven hill forts in the county of Cheshire. It was constructed before 200–100 BC and expanded in 1–50 AD. In
168-490: A saddle quern . The excavated walls were partially reconstructed and remain visible. The site has been assessed as being "at high risk" due to ploughing on the site, causing erosion. Five of Cheshire's seven hill forts have been assessed as being "at high risk" compared to 15% of North West England 's Scheduled Monuments. Although the western and northern parts of Eddisbury are owned by the Forestry Commission,
252-526: A Celtiberian stronghold against Roman invasions. İt dates more than 2500 years back. The site was researched by Francisco Martins Sarmento starting from 1874. A number of amphoras (containers usually for wine or olive oil), coins, fragments of pottery, weapons, pieces of jewelry, as well as ruins of a bath and its pedra formosa ( lit. ' handsome stone ' ) revealed here. The Iron Age in Central Asia began when iron objects appear among
336-699: A combination of bivalve moulds of distinct southern tradition and the incorporation of piece mould technology from the Zhongyuan . The products of the combination of these two periods are bells, vessels, weapons and ornaments, and the sophisticated cast. An Iron Age culture of the Tibetan Plateau has been associated tentatively with the Zhang Zhung culture described by early Tibetan writings. In Japan, iron items, such as tools, weapons, and decorative objects, are postulated to have entered Japan during
420-545: A desire to prevent the Royalist owner from using the fortification against Parliament, and the destruction undermined the owner's authority. Despite this, the profits from the demolition went to the owner, contrasting with Pontefract Castle , where the money went to the townspeople. When castles were slighted in the Middle Ages this often led to their complete abandonment, but some were repaired and others reused. This
504-400: A ditch in between. The ditch is 10 m (33 ft) wide and 0.5 m (1.6 ft) deep. The inner bank lies between. There is evidence of Bronze Age activity at Eddisbury. Before 250 BC, a palisade was erected on Eddisbury Hill. The first hill fort was built in 200–100 BC. Eddisbury hill fort has two main archaeological phases . In the first phase of activity, the site
588-475: A large scale. In cases of medieval slighting, domestic areas such as free-standing halls and chapels were typically excluded from the destruction. When King Władysław II Jagiełło of Poland gave the order to slight the castle at Mała Nieszawka , after negotiation with the Teutonic Order who owned the castle, one of the conditions was that the buildings in the outer bailey would be left intact while
672-404: A role and has stated "[the forts] provided defensive possibilities for the community at those times when the stress [of an increasing population] burst out into open warfare. But I wouldn't see them as having been built because there was a state of war. They would be functional as defensive strongholds when there were tensions and undoubtedly some of them were attacked and destroyed, but this was not
756-458: A structure by hand was sometimes done, but was time- and labour-intensive, as was filling ditches and digging away earthworks; and in later periods gunpowder was sometimes used. Manually dismantling a castle ("picking") can be split into two categories: primary damage where the intention was to slight the castle; and secondary damage which was incidental through activity such as retrieving reusable materials. Undermining involved digging underneath
840-457: A token gesture, for example damaging elements such as arrowslits . In 1268, the court of King Louis IX of France gave orders to slight a new fortification near Étampes , specifying that the bailiff carrying out orders should "destroy the arrow-slits and so to break them through that it may be abundantly clear that the fortification has been slighted". Destruction was often carefully targeted rather than indiscriminate, even when carried out on
924-601: A treaty with Robert the Bruce . In England, Scotland, and Wales, it was uncommon for someone to slight his own fortifications but not unknown; during the First War of Scottish Independence , Robert the Bruce systematically slighted Scottish castles, often after capturing them from English control. More than a century earlier, John, King of England , ordered the demolition of Château de Montrésor in France, during his war with
SECTION 10
#17327873662871008-483: A wall or removing stones at its base. When successful, the tunnel or cavity would collapse, making it difficult to identify through archaeology. Archaeological investigations have identified 61 castles that were slighted in the Middle Ages, and only five were undermined. While surviving mines are rare, one was discovered in the 1930s during excavations at Bungay Castle in Suffolk . It probably dates from around 1174 when
1092-400: Is abundant naturally, temperatures above 1,250 °C (2,280 °F) are required to smelt it, impractical to achieve with the technology available commonly until the end of the second millennium BC. In contrast, the components of bronze—tin with a melting point of 231.9 °C (449.4 °F) and copper with a relatively moderate melting point of 1,085 °C (1,985 °F)—were within
1176-669: Is also speculated that Early Iron Age sites may exist in Kandarodai , Matota, Pilapitiya and Tissamaharama . The earliest undisputed deciphered epigraphy found in the Indian subcontinent are the Edicts of Ashoka of the 3rd century BC, in the Brahmi script . Several inscriptions were thought to be pre-Ashokan by earlier scholars; these include the Piprahwa relic casket inscription,
1260-536: Is considered to last from c. 1200 BC (the Bronze Age collapse ) to c. 550 BC (or 539 BC ), roughly the beginning of historiography with Herodotus , marking the end of the proto-historical period. In China , because writing was developed first, there is no recognizable prehistoric period characterized by ironworking, and the Bronze Age China transitions almost directly into
1344-543: Is divided into two periods based on the Hallstatt culture (early Iron Age) and La Tène (late Iron Age) cultures. Material cultures of Hallstatt and La Tène consist of 4 phases (A, B, C, D). The Iron Age in Europe is characterized by an elaboration of designs of weapons, implements, and utensils. These are no longer cast but hammered into shape, and decoration is elaborate and curvilinear rather than simple rectilinear;
1428-873: Is from Malhar and its surrounding area. This site is assumed as the center for smelted bloomer iron to this area due to its location in the Karamnasa River and Ganga River. This site shows agricultural technology as iron implements sickles, nails, clamps, spearheads, etc., by at least c. 1500 BC. Archaeological excavations in Hyderabad show an Iron Age burial site. The beginning of the 1st millennium BC saw extensive developments in iron metallurgy in India. Technological advancement and mastery of iron metallurgy were achieved during this period of peaceful settlements. One ironworking centre in East India has been dated to
1512-460: Is in the southern group with Kelsborrow Castle and Oakmere hill fort . Located at grid reference SJ553694 , Eddisbury Hill, in common with all of the hill forts in Cheshire, sits on part of the central ridge that runs north–south through the county. Eddisbury hill fort follows the contours of its hill and measures 200 by 380 m (660 by 1,250 ft). It is surrounded by two ramparts with
1596-556: Is likely that the use of ironware made of steel had already begun in the third millennium BC in Central Anatolia". Souckova-Siegolová (2001) shows that iron implements were made in Central Anatolia in very limited quantities about 1800 BC and were in general use by elites, though not by commoners, during the New Hittite Empire (≈1400–1200 BC). Similarly, recent archaeological remains of iron-working in
1680-657: Is preceded by the Stone Age (subdivided into the Paleolithic , Mesolithic and Neolithic ) and Bronze Age. These concepts originated for describing Iron Age Europe and the Ancient Near East . The indigenous cultures of the New World did not develop an iron economy before 1500 . Although meteoric iron has been used for millennia in many regions, the beginning of the Iron Age is defined locally around
1764-626: Is recorded to extend 10 ha (25 acres) by 800 BC and grew to 50 ha (120 acres) by 700–600 BC to become a town. The skeletal remains of an Early Iron Age chief were excavated in Anaikoddai, Jaffna . The name "Ko Veta" is engraved in Brahmi script on a seal buried with the skeleton and is assigned by the excavators to the 3rd century BC. Ko, meaning "King" in Tamil, is comparable to such names as Ko Atan and Ko Putivira occurring in contemporary Brahmi inscriptions in south India. It
SECTION 20
#17327873662871848-515: Is singularly scarce in collections of Egyptian antiquities. Bronze remained the primary material there until the conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 671 BC. The explanation of this would seem to be that the relics are in most cases the paraphernalia of tombs, the funeral vessels and vases, and iron being considered an impure metal by the ancient Egyptians it was never used in their manufacture of these or for any religious purposes. It
1932-492: Is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative or social structures. This destruction of property is sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It is a phenomenon with complex motivations and was often used as a tool of control. Slighting spanned cultures and periods, with especially well-known examples from the English Civil War in
2016-411: Is the mass production of tools and weapons made not just of found iron, but from smelted steel alloys with an added carbon content. Only with the capability of the production of carbon steel does ferrous metallurgy result in tools or weapons that are harder and lighter than bronze . Smelted iron appears sporadically in the archeological record from the middle Bronze Age . Whilst terrestrial iron
2100-483: The 12th century BC (1200–1100 BC). The technology soon spread throughout the Mediterranean Basin region and to South Asia between the 12th and 11th century BC. Its further spread to Central Asia , Eastern Europe , and Central Europe was somewhat delayed, and Northern Europe was not reached until about the start of the 5th century BC (500 BC). The Iron Age in India is stated as beginning with
2184-931: The Badli pillar inscription , the Bhattiprolu relic casket inscription, the Sohgaura copper plate inscription , the Mahasthangarh Brahmi inscription, the Eran coin legend, the Taxila coin legends, and the inscription on the silver coins of Sophytes . However, more recent scholars have dated them to later periods. Dates are approximate; consult particular article for details. Archaeology in Thailand at sites Ban Don Ta Phet and Khao Sam Kaeo yielding metallic, stone, and glass artifacts stylistically associated with
2268-687: The Ganges Valley in India have been dated tentatively to 1800 BC. Tewari (2003) concludes that "knowledge of iron smelting and manufacturing of iron artifacts was well known in the Eastern Vindhyas and iron had been in use in the Central Ganga Plain, at least from the early second millennium BC". By the Middle Bronze Age increasing numbers of smelted iron objects (distinguishable from meteoric iron by
2352-540: The Geum River basin . The time that iron production begins is the same time that complex chiefdoms of Proto-historic Korea emerged. The complex chiefdoms were the precursors of early states such as Silla , Baekje , Goguryeo , and Gaya Iron ingots were an important mortuary item and indicated the wealth or prestige of the deceased during this period. Dates are approximate; consult particular article for details. The earliest evidence of iron smelting predates
2436-727: The Indo-European Saka in present-day Xinjiang (China) between the 10th century BC and the 7th century BC, such as those found at the cemetery site of Chawuhukou. The Pazyryk culture is an Iron Age archaeological culture ( c. 6th to 3rd centuries BC) identified by excavated artifacts and mummified humans found in the Siberian permafrost in the Altay Mountains . Dates are approximate; consult particular article for details. In China, Chinese bronze inscriptions are found around 1200 BC, preceding
2520-730: The Orchid Island . Early evidence for iron technology in Sub-Saharan Africa can be found at sites such as KM2 and KM3 in northwest Tanzania and parts of Nigeria and the Central African Republic. Nubia was one of the relatively few places in Africa to have a sustained Bronze Age along with Egypt and much of the rest of North Africa . Archaeometallurgical scientific knowledge and technological development originated in numerous centers of Africa;
2604-566: The Qin dynasty of imperial China. "Iron Age" in the context of China is used sometimes for the transitional period of c. 900 BC to 100 BC during which ferrous metallurgy was present even if not dominant. The Iron Age in the Ancient Near East is believed to have begun after the discovery of iron smelting and smithing techniques in Anatolia , the Caucasus or Southeast Europe during
Eddisbury hill fort - Misplaced Pages Continue
2688-528: The Roman conquests of the 1st century BC serve as marking the end of the Iron Age. The Germanic Iron Age of Scandinavia is considered to end c. AD 800 , with the beginning of the Viking Age . The three-age method of Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages was first used for the archaeology of Europe during the first half of the 19th century, and by the latter half of the 19th century, it had been extended to
2772-589: The Yangtse Valley toward the end of the 6th century BC. The few objects were found at Changsha and Nanjing . The mortuary evidence suggests that the initial use of iron in Lingnan belongs to the mid-to-late Warring States period (from about 350 BC). Important non-precious husi style metal finds include iron tools found at the tomb at Guwei-cun of the 4th century BC. The techniques used in Lingnan are
2856-459: The 17th century. Slighting is the act of deliberately damaging a high-status building, especially a castle or fortification, which could include its contents and the surrounding area. The first recorded use of the word slighting to mean a form of destruction was in 1613. Castles are complex structures combining military, social, and administrative uses, and the decision to slight them took these various roles into account. The purpose of slighting
2940-476: The 1960s has been that the increasing use of iron led to social changes in Britain. Deposits of iron ore were located in different places to the tin and copper ore necessary to make bronze, and as a result trading patterns shifted and the old elites lost their economic and social status. Power passed into the hands of a new group of people. Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe believes that population increase still played
3024-563: The 1st century AD, the Romans slighted the site. It was reoccupied in the 6th–8th centuries AD, and an Anglo-Saxon burh was probably established at Eddisbury in 914. In the medieval and post-medieval periods quarrying and farming have damaged the site. Ownership is currently split between the Forestry Commission and a local farm. Eddisbury is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument . Hill forts developed in
3108-673: The French king over control of Normandy. In the Levant, Muslim rulers adopted a policy of slighting castles and fortified towns and cities to deny them to Crusaders; Sultan Baybars , for example, instigated the destruction of fortifications at Jaffa in 1267, Antioch in 1268, and Ashkelon in 1270. Castles were demolished with a range of methods, each affecting the buildings in different ways. Fire might be used, especially against timber structures; digging underneath stone structures (known as undermining ) could cause them to collapse; dismantling
3192-459: The Indian subcontinent began prior to the 3rd millennium BC. Archaeological sites in India, such as Malhar, Dadupur, Raja Nala Ka Tila, Lahuradewa, Kosambi and Jhusi , Allahabad in present-day Uttar Pradesh show iron implements in the period 1800–1200 BC. As the evidence from the sites Raja Nala ka tila, Malhar suggest the use of Iron in c. 1800/1700 BC. The extensive use of iron smelting
3276-770: The Indian subcontinent suggest Indianization of Southeast Asia beginning in the 4th to 2nd centuries BC during the late Iron Age. In Philippines and Vietnam , the Sa Huynh culture showed evidence of an extensive trade network. Sa Huynh beads were made from glass, carnelian, agate, olivine, zircon, gold and garnet; most of these materials were not local to the region and were most likely imported. Han-dynasty-style bronze mirrors were also found in Sa Huynh sites. Conversely, Sa Huynh produced ear ornaments have been found in archaeological sites in Central Thailand, as well as
3360-632: The Late Bronze Age continued into the Early Iron Age. Thus, there is a sociocultural continuity during this transitional period. In Iran, the earliest actual iron artifacts were unknown until the 9th century BC. For Iran, the best studied archaeological site during this time period is Teppe Hasanlu . In the Mesopotamian states of Sumer , Akkad and Assyria , the initial use of iron reaches far back, to perhaps 3000 BC. One of
3444-589: The Late Bronze Age. As part of the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age, the Bronze Age collapse saw the slow, comparatively continuous spread of iron-working technology in the region. It was long believed that the success of the Hittite Empire during the Late Bronze Age had been based on the advantages entailed by the "monopoly" on ironworking at the time. Accordingly, the invading Sea Peoples would have been responsible for spreading
Eddisbury hill fort - Misplaced Pages Continue
3528-527: The Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, roughly the start of the first millennium BC . The reason for their emergence in Britain, and their purpose, has been a subject of debate. It has been argued that they could have been military sites constructed in response to invasion from continental Europe, sites built by invaders, or a military reaction to social tensions caused by an increasing population and consequent pressure on agriculture. The dominant view since
3612-554: The Romans, though ironworking remained the dominant technology until recent times. Elsewhere it may last until the early centuries AD, and either Christianization or a new conquest during the Migration Period . Iron working was introduced to Europe during the late 11th century BC, probably from the Caucasus , and slowly spread northwards and westwards over the succeeding 500 years. The Iron Age did not start when iron first appeared in Europe but it began to replace bronze in
3696-568: The archaeology of the Ancient Near East was developed during the 1920s and 1930s. Meteoric iron, a natural iron–nickel alloy , was used by various ancient peoples thousands of years before the Iron Age. The earliest-known meteoric iron artifacts are nine small beads dated to 3200 BC , which were found in burials at Gerzeh in Lower Egypt , having been shaped by careful hammering. The characteristic of an Iron Age culture
3780-486: The archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Its name harks back to the mythological " Ages of Man " of Hesiod . As an archaeological era, it was first introduced to Scandinavia by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen during the 1830s. By the 1860s, it was embraced as a useful division of the "earliest history of mankind" in general and began to be applied in Assyriology . The development of the now-conventional periodization in
3864-608: The beginning of the Western Han dynasty . Yoon proposes that iron was first introduced to chiefdoms located along North Korean river valleys that flow into the Yellow Sea such as the Cheongcheon and Taedong Rivers. Iron production quickly followed during the 2nd century BC, and iron implements came to be used by farmers by the 1st century in southern Korea. The earliest known cast-iron axes in southern Korea are found in
3948-482: The capabilities of Neolithic kilns , which date back to 6000 BC and were able to produce temperatures greater than 900 °C (1,650 °F). In addition to specially designed furnaces, ancient iron production required the development of complex procedures for the removal of impurities, the regulation of the admixture of carbon, and the invention of hot-working to achieve a useful balance of hardness and strength in steel. The use of steel has also been regulated by
4032-776: The centers of origin were located in West Africa , Central Africa , and East Africa ; consequently, as these origin centers are located within inner Africa, these archaeometallurgical developments are thus native African technologies. Iron metallurgical development occurred 2631–2458 BC at Lejja, in Nigeria, 2136–1921 BC at Obui, in Central Africa Republic, 1895–1370 BC at Tchire Ouma 147, in Niger, and 1297–1051 BC at Dekpassanware, in Togo. Slighted Slighting
4116-407: The defences covered 15.5 acres (63,000 m), 6 acres (24,000 m) more than previously. There are two theories about the expansion of the fort: either the growth westwards and the extended defences were completed at the same time or that they were separate events. If they happened at the same time it is likely to have been in the interest of making the site easier to defend. If they were separate,
4200-469: The development of iron metallurgy, which was known by the 9th century BC. The large seal script is identified with a group of characters from a book entitled Shǐ Zhòu Piān ( c. 800 BC). Therefore, in China prehistory had given way to history periodized by ruling dynasties by the start of iron use, so "Iron Age" is not used typically to describe a period of Chinese history. Iron metallurgy reached
4284-531: The earliest smelted iron artifacts known is a dagger with an iron blade found in a Hattic tomb in Anatolia , dating from 2500 BC. The widespread use of iron weapons which replaced bronze weapons rapidly disseminated throughout the Near East (North Africa, southwest Asia ) by the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. The development of iron smelting was once attributed to the Hittites of Anatolia during
SECTION 50
#17327873662874368-497: The economics of the metallurgical advancements. The earliest tentative evidence for iron-making is a small number of iron fragments with the appropriate amounts of carbon admixture found in the Proto-Hittite layers at Kaman-Kalehöyük in modern-day Turkey, dated to 2200–2000 BC. Akanuma (2008) concludes that "The combination of carbon dating, archaeological context, and archaeometallurgical examination indicates that it
4452-560: The emergence of the Iron Age proper by several centuries. Iron was being used in Mundigak to manufacture some items in the 3rd millennium BC such as a small copper/bronze bell with an iron clapper, a copper/bronze rod with two iron decorative buttons, and a copper/bronze mirror handle with a decorative iron button. Artefacts including small knives and blades have been discovered in the Indian state of Telangana which have been dated between 2400 BC and 1800 BC. The history of metallurgy in
4536-583: The end of the Bronze Age . The Iron Age in Europe is often considered as a part of the Bronze Age collapse in the ancient Near East . Anthony Snodgrass suggests that a shortage of tin and trade disruptions in the Mediterranean about 1300 BC forced metalworkers to seek an alternative to bronze. Many bronze implements were recycled into weapons during that time, and more widespread use of iron resulted in improved steel-making technology and lower costs. When tin became readily available again, iron
4620-498: The excavation of Ugarit. A dagger with an iron blade found in Tutankhamun's tomb , 13th century BC, was examined recently and found to be of meteoric origin. In Europe, the Iron Age is the last stage of prehistoric Europe and the first of the protohistoric periods, which initially means descriptions of a particular area by Greek and Roman writers. For much of Europe, the period came to an abrupt local end after conquest by
4704-465: The first millennium BC. In Southern India (present-day Mysore ) iron appeared as early as 12th to 11th centuries BC; these developments were too early for any significant close contact with the northwest of the country. The Indian Upanishads mention metallurgy. and the Indian Mauryan period saw advances in metallurgy. As early as 300 BC, certainly by 200 AD, high-quality steel
4788-424: The forms and character of the ornamentation of the northern European weapons resemble in some respects Roman arms, while in other respects they are peculiar and evidently representative of northern art. Citânia de Briteiros , located in Guimarães , Portugal, is one of the examples of archaeological sites of the Iron Age. This settlement (fortified villages) covered an area of 3.8 hectares (9.4 acres), and served as
4872-420: The ironworking Painted Grey Ware culture , dating from the 15th century BC , through to the reign of Ashoka in the 3rd century BC . The term "Iron Age" in the archaeology of South, East, and Southeast Asia is more recent and less common than for Western Eurasia. Africa did not have a universal "Bronze Age", and many areas transitioned directly from stone to iron. Some archaeologists believe that iron metallurgy
4956-412: The king's rebels or was used to undermine the authority of the owner by demonstrating his inability to protect his property. As part of the peace negotiations bringing The Anarchy of 1135–1154 to an end, both sides agreed to dismantle fortifications built since the start of the conflict. Similarly, in 1317 Edward II ordered the dismantling of Harbottle Castle in Northumberland in England as part of
5040-446: The knowledge through that region. The idea of such a "Hittite monopoly" has been examined more thoroughly and no longer represents a scholarly consensus. While there are some iron objects from Bronze Age Anatolia, the number is comparable to iron objects found in Egypt and other places of the same time period; and only a small number of these objects are weapons. Dates are approximate; consult particular article for details. Iron metal
5124-508: The lack of nickel in the product) appeared in the Middle East , Southeast Asia and South Asia . African sites are revealing dates as early as 2000–1200 BC. However, some recent studies date the inception of iron metallurgy in Africa between 3000 and 2500 BC, with evidence existing for early iron metallurgy in parts of Nigeria, Cameroon, and Central Africa, from as early as around 2,000 BC. The Nok culture of Nigeria may have practiced iron smelting from as early as 1000 BC, while
SECTION 60
#17327873662875208-409: The late 2nd millennium BC ( c. 1300 BC). The earliest bloomery smelting of iron is found at Tell Hammeh , Jordan about 930 BC (determined from C dating ). The Early Iron Age in the Caucasus area is divided conventionally into two periods, Early Iron I, dated to about 1100 BC, and the Early Iron II phase from the tenth to ninth centuries BC. Many of the material culture traditions of
5292-431: The late Yayoi period ( c. 300 BC – 300 AD) or the succeeding Kofun period ( c. 250–538 AD), most likely from the Korean Peninsula and China. Distinguishing characteristics of the Yayoi period include the appearance of new pottery styles and the start of intensive rice agriculture in paddy fields. Yayoi culture flourished in a geographic area from southern Kyūshū to northern Honshū . The Kofun and
5376-419: The nearby Djenné-Djenno culture of the Niger Valley in Mali shows evidence of iron production from c. 250 BC. Iron technology across much of sub-Saharan Africa has an African origin dating to before 2000 BC. These findings confirm the independent invention of iron smelting in sub-Saharan Africa. Modern archaeological evidence identifies the start of large-scale global iron production about 1200 BC, marking
5460-411: The only, or even the most significant, factor in their construction". Although there are over 1,300 hill forts in England , they are concentrated in the south of the country, with only seven in Cheshire. Eddisbury is the largest and most complex of the Cheshire hill forts. The forts form two geographical groups of three, with Maiden Castle on its own in the south of the county; Eddisbury hill fort
5544-425: The owner rebelled against Henry II . Dismantling a castle was a skilled process, and stone, metal, and glass were sometimes removed for sale or reuse. After the castle at Papowo Biskupie in Poland was slighted, some of the materials from the castle were used to build a seminary at nearby Chełmża . The impact of slighting ranged from almost complete destruction of a site, as can be seen at Deganwy Castle , to
5628-452: The preparation of tools and weapons. It did not happen at the same time throughout Europe; local cultural developments played a role in the transition to the Iron Age. For example, the Iron Age of Prehistoric Ireland begins about 500 BC (when the Greek Iron Age had already ended) and finishes about 400 AD. The widespread use of the technology of iron was implemented in Europe simultaneously with Asia. The prehistoric Iron Age in Central Europe
5712-462: The ramparts may have been extended to incorporate an entrance at the western end of the site. The expansion phase dated to 1–50 AD. In the late 1st century AD, the hill fort was destroyed ( slighted ) by the Romans. In the 4th–6th centuries AD, the hill fort was reoccupied and huts were built over the inner rampart. A later hut, dating from the 6th–8th centuries, has also been discovered. Eddisbury has been suggested as
5796-458: The remaining structure was left intact, and the castle remains inhabited to this day. The use of destruction both to control and to subvert control spans periods and cultures. Slighting was prevalent in the Middle Ages and the 17th century; notable episodes include The Anarchy, the English Civil War, and France in the 16th and 17th centuries, as well as Japan. The ruins left by the destruction of castles in 17th-century England and Wales encouraged
5880-543: The rest of the site is part of Old Pale Farm. Eads Byrig is a burh that is fought over in Bernard Cornwell 's novel Warriors of the Storm . Iron Age The Iron Age ( c. 1200 – c. 550 BC ) is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages , after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age . It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progressing to protohistory (before written history). In this usage, it
5964-436: The site of an Anglo-Saxon burh built in 914 by Æthelflæd , daughter of Alfred the Great , and recorded in the Mercian Register in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle but this has been queried. In the medieval and post-medieval period, the south-east part of the site was inhabited, at one point being used as a forester's lodge. The centre of the fort has been cultivated since at least the 19th century, still undergoes ploughing, and
6048-637: The subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes referred to collectively as the Yamato period ; The word kofun is Japanese for the type of burial mounds dating from that era. Iron objects were introduced to the Korean peninsula through trade with chiefdoms and state-level societies in the Yellow Sea area during the 4th century BC, just at the end of the Warring States Period but prior to
6132-532: The term is used infrequently for the archaeology of China. For the Ancient Near East, the establishment of the Achaemenid Empire c. 550 BC is used traditionally and still usually as an end date; later dates are considered historical according to the record by Herodotus despite considerable written records now being known from well back into the Bronze Age. In Central and Western Europe,
6216-426: The walls were reduced in height. In 1648, Parliament gave orders to slight Bolsover Castle but that "so much only be done to it as to make it untenable as a garrison and that it may not be unnecessarily spoiled and defaced." When a castle had a keep , it was usually the most visible part of the castle and a focus of symbolism. This would sometimes attract the attention of people carrying out slighting. Kenilworth
6300-481: The world by archaeological convention when the production of smelted iron (especially steel tools and weapons) replaces their bronze equivalents in common use. In Anatolia and the Caucasus , or Southeast Europe , the Iron Age began during the late 2nd millennium BC ( c. 1300 BC). In the Ancient Near East , this transition occurred simultaneously with the Late Bronze Age collapse , during
6384-614: Was also the case with places slighted as a result of the English Civil War. In 1650, Parliament gave orders to slight Wressle Castle in East Yorkshire; the south part of the castle was left standing so that the owner could still use it as a manor house . Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire was also slighted in the same period – meaning that a small but significant part of the curtain wall was demolished, but
6468-488: Was attributed to Seth, the spirit of evil who according to Egyptian tradition governed the central deserts of Africa. In the Black Pyramid of Abusir , dating before 2000 BC, Gaston Maspero found some pieces of iron. In the funeral text of Pepi I , the metal is mentioned. A sword bearing the name of pharaoh Merneptah as well as a battle axe with an iron blade and gold-decorated bronze shaft were both found in
6552-400: Was cheaper, stronger and lighter, and forged iron implements superseded cast bronze tools permanently. In Central and Western Europe, the Iron Age lasted from c. 800 BC to c. 1 BC , beginning in pre-Roman Iron Age Northern Europe in c. 600 BC , and reaching Northern Scandinavian Europe about c. 500 BC . The Iron Age in the Ancient Near East
6636-421: Was defended by a single rampart and ditch; this type of hill fort is termed " univallate ". The settlement was concentrated on the eastern part of the fort's hill. During the second phase, the fort extended westwards, occupying the entire hill top, and the defences were enhanced through the addition of more ramparts and ditches. The enclosed area expanded from 5.5 acres (22,000 m) to 7 acres (28,000 m), and
6720-457: Was developed in sub-Saharan Africa independently from Eurasia and neighbouring parts of Northeast Africa as early as 2000 BC . The concept of the Iron Age ending with the beginning of the written historiographical record has not generalized well, as written language and steel use have developed at different times in different areas across the archaeological record. For instance, in China, written history started before iron smelting began, so
6804-583: Was one of many castles to be slighted during the English Civil War, and the side of the keep most visible to people outside the castle was demolished. Documentary sources for the medieval period typically have little information on what slighting involved, so archaeology helps to understand which areas of buildings were targeted and how they were demolished. For the English Civil War, destruction accounts are rare but there are some instances such as Sheffield Castle where detailed records survive. At Sheffield military and social concerns combined: there may have been
6888-561: Was produced in southern India, by what would later be called the crucible technique . In this system, high-purity wrought iron, charcoal, and glass were mixed in a crucible and heated until the iron melted and absorbed the carbon. The protohistoric Early Iron Age in Sri Lanka lasted from 1000 BC to 600 BC. Radiocarbon evidence has been collected from Anuradhapura and Aligala shelter in Sigiriya . The Anuradhapura settlement
6972-478: Was to reduce the value of the building, whether military, social, or administrative. Destruction often went beyond what was needed to prevent an enemy from using the fortification, indicating the damage was important symbolically. When Eccleshall Castle in Staffordshire was slighted as a result of the English Civil War, the act was politically motivated. In some cases, it was used as a way of punishing
7056-513: Was used as a quarry. Eddisbury was excavated between 1935 and 1938 by W. J. Varley , who also undertook excavations at Maiden Castle nearby, as part of his investigation into the origin of Cheshire's hill forts. The structure was made a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1995, giving Eddisbury protection against unauthorised change. The eastern entrance was re-excavated by the Habitats and Hillforts Project in 2010, finds including sling stones and
#286713