Castle Wood Hill Fort (Cenwealh s Camp) Over the centuries Pen Ridge in modern day Pen Selwood, has had many different generations and cultures inhabitant its boundaries. In attempting to tell its story we must start from the very beginning. The first inhabitants of the land were Neolithic stone-age peoples. Neolithic & Bronze Age hunter-gatherers & worshipers. Sadly no archaeological excavation has ever taken place on Pen Ridge. Research done at Old Sarum in Wiltshire and Mai Dun in Dorset on the other hand is extensive. These two pillars of Neolithic Britain are still very much visible today, and like Stonehenge, reveal their status and importance in Neolithic times. These are good, well researched, local markers; showing how Bronze Age tribes used elevated sites like this in the area as battlefields, burial mounds, places of worship or boundary markers. Archaeological research shows these tribes settled in the Mai Dun area of modern day Dorset in around 4000BC. A Neolithic causewayed enclosure was constructed on the Mai Dun site, it was an oval area enclosed by two ditches. Archaeologists have found flint tools and other objects that date back to 4000BC. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the enclosure at Mai Dun was later abandoned around 3,400BC. Arrowheads discovered in the ditches may indicate that activity at the enclosure met a violent end. Around 3000BC research shows, a huge barrow or burial mound, five hundred metres or more in length was added, which is highly impressive for the era it was built in. Further archaeological finds of an undefended burial site and possible beacon or boundary at Cadbury Castle dating from the Neolithic period; dating from the Iron Age, the hill fort at Badbury was constructed on a site that was certainly occupied from much earlier times. This can be seen by the four Bronze Age round barrows. The hill fort itself consists of three concentric, circular ditches that protected a large inner sanctuary for the inhabitants. All add weight to the theory that the Castle Wood site may well have been a beacon or boundary site in this period too. The Pen Pits nearby have also been dated as being established in the Bronze Age around 1800BC, as a quarrying site for Greensand. Excavation at the pits showed signs of use of primitive tools such as pieces of deer-antlers for digging. This is definite further proof that there was early human activity on Pen Ridge and the surrounding area.
Celtic Tribes & Iron Age inhabitants. Archaeological evidence shows that in 600BC the first hill-fort now modern day Maiden Castle, at Mai Dun was constructed on a territorial boundary. Later in about 450BC the hill-fort was extended to the west and in 300BC the fortifications, the ditches and ramparts were enlarged, with entrances to the east and west of the hill. The geographical nature of the land in this part of Britain is that of steep hills jutting out almost unnaturally, a result of the tectonic plates theory as to how the land was formed. Indeed there are hundreds of hills formed from tectonic plates in this area of the south-west making it perfect country for hill-forts. Many of these defended settlements can still be seen today and were founded in the third and fourth centuries BC and ranged from fairly simple designs, with a single bank and ditch extending around the hilltop, like the Castle Wood site on Pen ridge, to more sophisticated systems of multiple ramparts and ditches, like Maiden Castle in Dorset. Around this time Britain was divided up by tribes. Modern day Somerset is home to around forty-seven hill-forts which throughout this period would have been flourishing towns of native Britons. Maiden Castle was one of the most important iron production sites from the Late Iron Age in southern Britain. The first Celtic-speaking people came to the area around 350BC. These Celtic tribes, lived in roundhouses, grew food, grazed animals and traded with one another. However the developing industries and increased interaction with the Roman Empire meant many hill-forts fell out of use around Britain at the turn of the millennium. This may have resulted in beginning a shift away from the hill-fort elites, whose power was based on agriculture. Such change is not as obvious in this area as it is in the rest of Britain, but there is a trend for abandonment of hillforts in the area and a proliferation of small undefended farmsteads, indicating a migration of the population. The Durotriges tribe however had become the dominant Celtic tribe of the South-West region at this point in time, a prosperous tribe with good trading connections. The territory of the Durotriges was centred in modern day Dorset. They occupied what is day East Devon, Somerset, Dorset and South Wiltshire. Their capital was at Maiden Castle, Durnovaria, present day Dorchester. The tribe was noted for its well positioned large hill-forts many of which many had been around for the last three or four hundred years. They were not about to give up their way of life easily. Indeed, many of the most famous hill forts Maiden Castle, Cadbury Castle and Hod Hill were all known to be occupied by the Durotriges. The large early site at Whitesheet hill is a very steep elavation and is visible from the fort at Pen Ridge; as is Cadbury Castle, both can be seen on a clear day. Other forts nearby include Gare Hill, West Woodlands, Cley Hill, Scratchebury Camp and Castle Rings in Shaftesbury. Early sites tended to be higher up than the later ones which were closer to water or other natural resources. Fires burning constantly meant all the hill-forts were in communication with their neighbours. They lived in the mineral-rich area and minted coins well before the Roman invasion. The lack of any indication of a royal lineage has led to the theory that the Durotriges were a confederation of smaller tribes, leaving us with very little evidence as to their leaders and great warriors. Although atypical at the time, the Durotriges represent what we think of today as the archetypal Celtic peoples in that after even after hundreds of years of settlement and an ever
increasing Roman influence, they still occupied these hill forts, and were essentially content with their rural lifestyles, although they did embrace the iron industry and those at Castle Wood hill-fort would likely have made use of the rivers nearby and the existing Pen Pits for quarrying too. Roman occupation. The start of Roman Britain in the South West is traditionally dated to the campaigns of the Roman army under the future emperor, Vespasian in the years following the invasion of AD 43 under the imperial command of Claudius. Vespasian marched through the lands of the Atrebates Hampshire, who were friendly to Rome, meeting his first real opposition from the Durotriges tribe from modern-day Dorset. The Romans under the leadership of Vespasian besieged Maiden Castle, where a bloody battle ensued. At Hod hill-fort, in an unusual move Vespasian built a military camp in one corner of the enclosure, where it can be seen today. There is also gruesome evidence of another bloody assault at Cadbury Castle, the Romans then pushed on to present day Exeter, capturing twenty hill-forts in all, Castle Wood was likely one of them. Almost all the hill-forts in the Southwest were commandeered by Roman forces; this was a characteristic of Vespasian's campaign in the region. Maiden Castle was initially occupied as a Roman military outpost, with the Durotrige settlement there being discontinued. Later however, by the end of the first century excavation shows it had been completely abandoned by the Romans as an outpost. Elsewhere excavation shows there was Roman military occupation at Hod Hill in Dorset, and Cadbury Castle in Somerset. Castle Wood having already been captured may well have been occupied by the Romans as well. Despite their opposition, the Durotriges were made into a civitas after the conquest, with an administrative capital at Durnovaria Dorchester. About half a century later 100AD Roman records show a second Durotrigian civitas was created, this time administered from Lindinis, Ilchester. This was much closer to the Castle Wood fort, suggesting more Roman activity in this area than there seems to have been further down the coast at the now abandoned Maiden Castle. Away from the military sites and centrally planned civitas capitals however, there is little evidence of change, and earlier settlement forms persisted. The Romans occupied some of the hillforts for only short periods after arriving, although in some cases longer term settlements arose around economic activities such as mining and quarrying. Whether or not there was Roman military occupation at Castle Wood can be determined in part from excavation of local forts nearby, but also by the presence in modern day Pen Selwood of the Pen Pits, which as mentioned had been quarried since the Bronze age. They yielded lumps of useful Greensand stone which was a useful natural asset to the Romans. Vespasian is recorded as having fought a battle near the ancient Pen Pits, most likely at Castle Wood, the hill-fort lies at the end of Pen ridge, just up from the pits, where two ancient paths now named Bleak street and Coombe street, led up to the hill-fort. Here Vespasian is likely to have looked to secure his new economic interest, the Pen Pits. Proof the Romans settled here long term, can be seen today in the existing Roman road that runs through the camp at Whitesheet hill, and continues through passing the Pen Pits. The Romans would have administered proceedings from
somewhere up on the ridge where the roads led, perhaps at the hill-fort, quarrying the whetstone for the next three hundred years until they left. Native Brythons, Mercians & Anglo-Saxon Inhabitants. After the Romans left in 410 AD the local Britons or Brythons regained the hilltops and many of the hill-forts in Somerset continued to be used in various ways, settlements continued at some of the larger sites. Excavation work at Cadbury Castle shows it was fortified again around five hundred AD, and had a large timber hall. Remains of pottery imported from the eastern Mediterranean and western France indicate that the site was a flourishing town around this time. The scale of trade evident here during the dark ages suggests that this would have been the base of someone important, possibly a King, but certainly a powerful ruler. King Arthur is said to have reigned at Cadbury Castle, and led the defence of Britain against the wolves of the sea, the Saxon Germanic (Seax tribes) invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore however. The close proximity of the Cadbury hill-fort and its flourishing town to the Castle Wood hillfort can only suggest the site was as active with many inhabitants no doubt trading with their close neighbours, possibly governed by this powerful and mythical King from Cadbury Castle. The (Wealas) Brythons had likely been inhabitants at Castle Wood since the Romans had left. With the West-Saxon advance claiming Wessex as part of their traditional homeland. Castle Wood stood at the gateway to Wessex; it was of great strategic importance and would undoubtedly have fallen into West-Saxon hands where it remained for the rest of the sixth century, although the Saxons did not necessarily inhabit the camp during their early reign in Wessex. It is likely the native Brythons occupying the hill-forts at the time would have remained there initially under West-Saxon rule, living alongside them, trading in relative peace, yet fiercely retaining their native sense of identity. In 628AD however the Mercians defeated the West-Saxons in Wessex and came to power. Cenwealh was a Mercian, with a bad temper, red hair and a big red beard, who despite being baptised into Christianity, remained a Pagan, as Bede writes that Cenwealh: refused to embrace the mysteries of the Christian faith, and of the heavenly kingdom; and not long after also he lost the dominion of his earthly kingdom; for he put away the sister of Penda, king of the Mercians, whom he had married, and took another wife; whereupon a war ensuing, he was by him expelled his kingdom. (Bede III 7) Bede says that his exile lasted three years, but does not give the dates. It was during this exile that Cenwealh came south to inhabit the old existing celtic hill-fort at Peonnum, Pen Ridge. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records a battle between Cenwealh and the Britons in its entry for AD 658: the native Brythons living at Castle Wood had angered King Cenwaelh by convening rebellion and demanding ancient liberties be restored. "Here Cenwealh fought at Peonnum, where he thrashed the Wealas, causing them to flee as far as the River Parret". Choosing strategically he set up camp on the ridge. This is where Cenwaelh s Camp gets its name from today. King Cenwaelh is said to have commandeered the camp at this time although it is not clear how long
he stayed. The advance into the British south-west is obscure, but Cenwealh's relations with the Brythons were not uniformly hostile as he is reported to have endowed the monastery at Sherborne, in Dorset around this time. Wessex now remained in Mercian hands under various rulers including King Offa, until 820 AD when the West-Saxons under King Egbert, finally broke free of Mercian rule which was now in decline. Some hill forts were re-occupied by the Saxons during the period of Viking raids. The camp may have served King Alfred as a West-Saxon stronghold in 878AD, as we know he established a network of coastal hill-forts and lookout posts in Wessex when fighting against the approaching Viking army led by Guthrum. He is also said to have rallied his troops at the Egbert s stone near Pen Pits, not far from Castle Wood camp itself. In 886AD when Alfred was restored as ruler of Wessex and had pushed the realm all the way back to London. Castle Wood hill-fort was restored at the centre of a thriving Saxon village again as archaeology proves Cadbury Castle was, post Viking invasion. In victory against the Vikings, Alfred had united the country against Danelaw ; Saxon rulership was now greatly accepted by the native peoples who finally adopted a more unified English identity under Saxon King Alfred. Throughout the tenth century a period of domination by Wessex over all of England led to tranquillity in the area, which would have helped further establish Saxon communities and improve relations with the native local peoples still living at the hill-forts particularly here in Somerset, as it was in the very heart of Wessex territory. Conclusion The final destruction of Castle Wood hill-fort would likely have occurred in 1016AD by the Viking King Canute, it would have taken place despite Edmund Ironside winning a battle that was fought at Pen Ridge earlier that year. Evidence of this bloody and abrupt end can be found in the excavation work done at Cadbury Castle which revealed an Anglo-Saxon settlement and fort as being active for centuries until its eventual destruction at the beginning of the eleventh century on the orders of King Canute as part of the unification of the Saxons into the Kingdom of England. King Canute s destruction of Saxon hill-forts in the area finally ended just over a thousand years of occupation at Castle Wood, witnessing countless battles, from the Neolithic to the brink of the Norman Conquest. Its Neolithical beginnings, right through the Celtic Iron age, Roman occupation, Native Brythons and Saxons, until the Vikings destroyed the camp and the Normans invaded in 1066AD and later secured the area with three Motte and Bailey Castles instead. These castles can be interpreted as proof of the strategic importance of the area as a thoroughfare, but also of the final demise of Castle Wood hill-fort and hill-forts in general as active settlements. A Norman style stone Church was first built in its existing location on Pen Ridge in Edward the Confessors reign and honours Alfred the Great..
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