Two solid years of work on understanding how hillfort gates worked! Here’s a on the new paper by me, @rgsm84 @DrDerekHamilton Dr Eddie Rule & @johnswogger. Funded by @LivUni, @Go_CheshireWest, @HistoricEngland. What did these ‘lost’ iron objects tell us about the Iron Age? 1/ https://twitter.com/archaeologicalj/status/1301856036614295557

In 1936-37, the iron objects were excavated by Bill Varley of @LivUni (who also excavated @OldOswestryFort). One of the iron mechanisms remained attached to its oak, entrance gate-post - that was still standing 3’ tall! Thought lost in WWII, @rgsm84 tracked the objects down

The objects were in a fragile state - so we had them conserved, with the help of @HistoricEngland & Ian Panter (YAT). We analysed them (for wood type, metal composition), illustrated them, undertook re-fitting, worked out their ‘types’, and how they functioned as mechanisms.

Then we tracked down parallels. What we found, is that whilst the majority of excavated gate-mechanisms are Roman, the technology is an *Iron Age invention* - and designed for a much more *complex* engineering task at 400 BC than it was used for in the Roman period

The earliest example of the gate-mechanism technology is that from Eddisbury (Cheshire). Its closest parallels were from the wonderful hillforts of Hembury (Devon) & South Cadbury (Somerset) - as excavated by Dorothy Liddell (1930-35) and Leslie Alcock (1970).

You can find out more about pioneering archaeologist Dorothy Liddell from @Trowelblazers () here: https://trowelblazers.com/dorothy-liddell/ and there’s a fascinating photo archive of the 1930-35 Hembury excavations here: http://www.hemburyfort.co.uk/gallery.html 

To help us date the gate-mechanism technology, we first had to re-phase the excavated entrance sequences - by reanalysing the stratigraphy, in association with the architectural layout, over time. This also allowed us to provide new hillfort sequences for Eddisbury and Hembury.

Another strand was bringing in @DrDerekHamilton, and his Bayesian modelling skills, on Eddusbury’s new radiocarbon dates. Via this process, we’ve C-14 dated (for the first time) the phenomenon of ‘Developed Hillforts’ (when some triple in size) to 400 BC. Confirming Cunliffe

By using the device of the archaeological matrix, we were able to resolve outstanding issues with the mid-late Cadbury sequence - which has traditionally seen problems around event conflation. And we’ve more securely dated the ‘massacre deposit’ to a Conquest period event.

By working with the parallels, we’ve built the first typology of prehistoric gate-mechanisms (3rdC BC-Roman) - showing how the Middle Iron Age engineering task around manoeuvring big oak gates was far greater than the later (LIA-Roman) technology around using of ash gates.

This is the best bit! We also decided to visually reconstruct South Cadbury hillfort’s Late Iron Age SW gate - finally resolving its excavated gate-fittings. This took a lot of working out. As illustrated here by the ever-fabulous @johnswogger. Really brings the hillfort to life!

And finally - what did we learn about the Iron Age? That Middle Iron Age ‘massive’ architecture was about animals & community. The architecture was becoming more ‘defensive’ by the 2ndC BC, and that communal social forms broke down in the 1stC BC - i.e. trouble *before* AD 43.

We learned lots more besides, so if you’d like to find out more - read the paper! It’s #OpenAccess so it’s yours now You can also find out more about the @LivUni excavations at Eddisbury hillfort, and @rgsm84’s work on the Varley archive, in this book (pending our monograph):