Atlas of Hillforts

[dawfydd 12656xp 9]

Okay so this is some very interesting news, for those interested in history, terrain, myth & folklore: The University of Oxford have published online an interactive Atlas of all 4,147 known hillforts across Britain & Ireland.

http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2017-06-23-online-hillforts-atlas-maps-all-4147-britain-and-ireland-first-time?fbclid=IwAR0RKY9gPSVhu2NU88JrE61ig351QiKuT098xiH6LNjFULSpTp1e5mgZFmc#

https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk/

Now this gets my juices flowing as hillforts were kind of my thing at university when I studied Archaeology, and more specifically the fort of Foel Drygarn in Pembrokeshire, that is just fascinating what with being built in a supremely defensible position around a trio of Bronze Age stone cairns, within meters of a source of fresh water and where the ramparts would have controlled the visual access to the cairns by folks in the surrounding landscapes (also, at the foot of the hill there is evidence of a small temporary Irish settlement dated to the early 1st century if memory serves).
And wouldn’t you know it, the Atlas brought it straight up:

Even dug out some of the pictures there I took back in 2002. To have had a modern camera phone for a panoramic view back then…..

[Anonymous]

Couple of those are quite close to me.  Might have to get the walking shoes on and brave the local farmers some day.

[torros 23839xp 2]

(In the voice of Ben) Very cool

[somegeezer 18480xp 2]

This is truly excellent. I have a fond memory of flying into Edinburgh over the hills and being able to see the outlines of hill forts in the snow.

[templar007 52391xp 2]

Thanks for sharing that @dawfydd

 

I have often turned to  Archeological Papers published and available for free, (through the power of the internet), for the basis of terrain builds for tables.  Of course I remember spending many hours, (or days), in libraries “Before the time of the Internet”.

 

Lots of good stuff out there to inspire folks, if they just take advantage of others hard work!  Big thanks to the ‘Dirt Nerds’.  ??

[nogbadthebad 5772xp 1]

Am I the only one who thinks there is a drinking game to be had with the weekender, every time Ben says ”cool” take a drink…

[dawfydd 12656xp 2]

@nogbadthebad no, because we all value our livers and longterm good health far too much…..

[nogbadthebad 5772xp 1]

?

[avernos 35143xp 1]

cheers matey, I’m book marking that.

[bigdave 3704xp 1]

Top stuff! So many avenues to follow with a resource like this – and for Saga players wanting to do a campaign, quite a number of hill forts would be reoccupied under King Alfred. Some would be refortified, others would feature prominently in some of the battles against the Danes. On a smaller scale, being able to utilise your knowledge of the locations of different hill forts as a raiding/counter raiding force could be invaluable. The ability to camp overnight behind the safety of a ditch could increase depth of your raids into enemy territory as a Welsh or Viking raider, or for some poor Saxon fyrdsman provide a rallying point to gather local forces when you try to catch them (and their loot) as they try and make it back home again…

Their utility lasted right the way up to the Napoleonic era, volunteer infantry units on the south coast of England made use of them during the invasion scares as encampments, the strategic locations of some of them not diminishing 2000 years on. An invading French column having to march up the slope towards the ditches and ramparts of an old Hill Fort with musket fire raining down on them? Or worse, trying to bypass them on a forced march to the military canal and then London? Ready-made guerrilla nests in the hills of Southern England.

Great find man, going to spend ages pawing my way through this now…

[dawfydd 12656xp 0]

@avernos & @bigdave glad to be of service 🙂

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