A-Z Challenge 2012 - U
Uffington Castle
Uffington Castle sits on the northern face of the
Berkshire Downs in Oxfordshire just to the south of the famous White Horse cut
in the hillside. Its is designated as an ‘Iron Age Hillfort’ but archaeological
finds suggest that it dates from the Bronze Age around 800 – 700 BC. The fort’s
shape is defined by a single rampart as a rough pentagon; its importance to the
early Celtic tribes was its position commanding the Ridgeway, the ancient track
that runs across England from
the coast near Dover to Illchester in Somerset.
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| Uffington Castle - 2009 |
It has been said that Uffington was Mount Badon
where King Arthur defeated the Saxons in c AD518 and suggested that the White
Horse is actually an effigy of the dragon slain by St George on the nearby
natural chalk outcrop of Dragon Hill.
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| Uffington Castle - ditch and bank on south-east side - 2006 |
Uffington Castle does not appear to have been ever
densely populated; despite evidence of buildings inside it wasn’t permanently
occupied either. The fort may even have been a spiritual centre rather than a
defensive structure. Wayland’s Smithy, a Neolithic burial chamber is a mere
1.1/4miles away along the Ridgeway and contributes to the area’s mystical and
spiritual significance.
Hilary Melton-Butcher’s
‘T’ castle yesterday was Tintagel Castle, Cornwall.
Attributions:
- Uffington Castle Uffington Castle on Whitehorse Hill viewed from the west 2009; author Philip Halling; Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
- Uffington Castle The ditch and bank on the southeast side. – 2006; author Andrew Smith; Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
- Video: Uffington Hill Fort by Graeme Field
