Maiden Castle, North Yorkshire

For other places with the same name, see Maiden Castle.
Maiden Castle, North Yorkshire
Location within North Yorkshire
General information
Town or city Grinton, North Yorkshire
Country England
Coordinates 54°22′42″N 1°58′04″W / 54.37826°N 1.967872°W / 54.37826; -1.967872
Technical details
Size 7,000 m2 (1.7 acres)


Maiden Castle is a settlement in Grinton, North Yorkshire (grid reference SE02189808) which probably dates from the Iron Age. It is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.[1] The name Maiden Castle is not unique to the site and occurs in several other places in Britain and probably means a "fortification that looks impregnable" or one that has never been taken in battle.[2]

The site measures 108 by 88 m (354 by 289 ft), covering about 7,000 m2 (1.7 acres), and is pear-shaped. An avenue leading to the entrance of the settlement is a unique feature. Maiden Castle has been described as a banjo enclosure due to its shape, however this description has been disputed.[1] If it is a banjo enclosure, it would be one of just two in northern England, the other being Fremington Dykes.[1]

The only dating evidence recovered from Maiden Castle is a "post-and-panel building" which is typologically similar to a structure discovered in Healaugh that has been dated to the late Iron Age or Romano-British periods.[1]

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 Historic England. "Maiden Castle (48766)". PastScape. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
  2. Mills (1977), p. 377.
Bibliography
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