A time of great change from the Stone

A time of great change: from the Stone Age to the Iron Age

WEEK 11 Key Question: Who killed the 52 dead bodies found at Maiden Castle? LO: • To use what we know about life in a Hillfort and evidence found there to solve a mystery. Skills Objective: • To weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of conflicting theories. • To use evidence to reach a conclusion.

Can you solve the mystery of the 52 bodies discovered at Maiden Castle? In today’s lesson, you will work as an historical detective to try to establish what happened to the 52 people who n o i t were discovered at a g i t s Maiden Castle. e Inv

Where is Maiden Castle? Maiden Castle is in the South of England not far from the English Channel. You can find out more about the site here: http: //www. englishheritage. org. uk/daysout/properties/maiden-castle

What was found there? There was obviously some sort of struggle. But who was fighting whom, … and why, …. and when? Look carefully at this picture. What has been highlighted in the red circle? It is actually the bolt of a ballista in the backbone of a human.

What you already know… ①Maiden Castle is the largest Iron Age Hill Fort in Britain and is in Dorset near the south coast. ②Hill forts developed in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. There are 31 in Dorset. ③The enormous ramparts and ditches would have been dug out by hand, to provide refuge in times of crisis. ④It is clear from sites like Maiden Castle that things were far from peaceful across Britain long before the Romans invaded in AD 43. Tribes would have been frequently at war with their neighbours. ⑤When the Romans invaded in AD 43 they went straight to crush the tribes of England.

TASK: Over to you Time Detectives! Look at the six clues we’ve discovered. I want a full report on my desk by the end of the lesson! What happened and WHY? Who was responsible? I want answers!!

❶ Evidence of what happened when the Romans arrived at Maiden Castle was uncovered by the British archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler, who spent four summers excavating on the site between 1934 and 1937. He dated the finds to about AD 50.

d e t a v a c x e s t s i m g e o h l t o f e o a Arch dies, 14 ade by o m b s m d 2 o n 5 r f u y o l t w. l s l h o u t i k m s w , s e n h t o p n a o s we t u c d r swo ❷ ② http: //www. stonecircles. org. uk/stone/images/maidencastle 2. jpg

❸ A Roman writer once said “The Britons are war-mad, courageous and love fighting. They fight battles even if they have nothing on their side but their own strength and courage. ”

Local tribes Maide n Castle ❹

The Romans invaded in AD 43 ❺ They had very advanced equipment like the ballista which could fire bolts over long distances.

⑥ 2 of the 52 skeletons were carefully buried alongside grave goods including legs of meat, tankards of ale, pots, beads rings and

❷The bodies were in a Four main theories ❶ The men were put in graves hastily dug after a big single battle with the Romans. ❸ There are four main theories, but you may have one of your own. The dead bodies had been involved in fights with neighbouring tribes. cemetery used to bury soldiers and other people over a period of time. Some of them may have died trying to defend Maiden Castle against the Romans. ❹ There was a big argument inside the tribe that lived there, before the Romans arrived, ending in bloodshed.

TASK: So what do you think? Write a report to explain what you think happened to the 52 bodies at Maiden Castle. Refer to each piece of evidence in your report (and to any of the background information) to explain what it means and how it supports your theory. You report should be about one page long. Email it to me. For example: We know that there were many different tribes living in the South of England at that time. The tribe in the area of Maiden Castle were the Durotriges. Although we know these tribes traded with each other, we also know that they were warlike – indeed, the hillforts were built so one tribe could protect itself from other tribes. This suggests that the bodies may have…. However…. .