Cadbury Castle, Somerset

Cadbury Castle
An aerial view over green fields and hedgerows toward a large conical hill
Cadbury Castle, Somerset is located in Somerset
Cadbury Castle, Somerset
Location of the site in Somerset
LocationNear South Cadbury and Yeovil, Somerset, England
Coordinates51°1′26.76″N 2°31′54.48″W / 51.0241000°N 2.5318000°W / 51.0241000; -2.5318000
TypeHillfort
History
PeriodsIron Age
Site notes
ConditionSome damage

Cadbury Castle is a Bronze and Iron Age hillfort in the civil parish of South Cadbury in the English county of Somerset. It is a scheduled monument[1] and has been associated with King Arthur's legendary court at Camelot.

The hillfort is formed by a 7.28 hectares (18.0 acres) plateau surrounded by ramparts on the surrounding slopes of the limestone Cadbury Hill. The site has been excavated in the late 19th and early 20th century by James Bennett and Harold St George Gray. More recent examination of the site was conducted in the 1960s by Leslie Alcock and since 1992 by the South Cadbury Environs Project. These have revealed artifacts from human occupation and use from the Neolithic through the Bronze and Iron Ages. The site was reused by the Roman forces and again from c. 470 until some time after 580. In the 11th century, it temporarily housed a Saxon mint. Evidence of various buildings at the site has been unearthed, including a "Great Hall", round and rectangular house foundations, metalworking, and a possible sequence of small rectangular temples or shrines.

  1. ^ "Cadbury Castle". National Monument Record. English Heritage. Retrieved 22 March 2011.