We’re thinking about reconstruction paintings this #HillfortsWednesday and this one of the gate to Llanmelin Iron Age hillfort #Monmouthshire @museum_cardiff is one of our absolute favourites

Painted in 1940 by the great Alan Sorrell it is STUNNING !

Alan Sorrell (1904-74) is an artist today best known for his pioneering reconstruction paintings

His first archaeological work was for Kathleen Kenyon in 1936. She showed his art to Mortimer Wheeler who had just finished digging at Maiden Castle...

#HillfortsWedneday

In 1937 Mortimer Wheeler wanted to depict the ‘Battle of Maiden Castle’ between the Durotriges and the Roman II legion which he thought had raged across the east gate of the hillfort in AD 44

He asked Alan Sorrell who produced this dramatic recreation

#HillfortsWednesday

Alan Sorrell"s pic of Maiden Castle uses Mortimer Wheeler's account from the 1936 dig

The II legion advance with catapult fire

Huts ablaze, defenders hurl sling stones down at the Romans

Cornfields burning, more Romans advance under the cover of smoke

#HillfortsWednesday

For the sake of full disclosure, whilst we love Alan Sorrell's dramatic picture showing the 'Battle of Maiden Castle' (and we really do) we now doubt that it really happened (sorry)

#HillfortsWednesday

See: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ojoa.12172#.X74db-janFw.twitter

Alan Sorrell made this epic recreation of Maiden Castle in its Iron Age heyday for Barbara Green’s 1968 book *Prehistoric Britain*

We’ve never seen the original, so don’t know if it’s in colour – any info on whereabouts and status gladly received !

#HillfortsWednesday

This dramatic pic *Building an Iron Age Stone Fort in Scotland* was made by Alan Sorrell and appears in the book *Prehistoric Britain* (Barbara Green 1968)

Sadly we don't know if it depicts any particular hillfort - happy to receive any info !

#HillfortsWednesday

A recreation of Clickhimin Iron Age #broch #Shetland by Alan Sorrell from 1962. Although details of this reconstruction are now disputed, it remains an impressively evocative piece of work

#HillfortsWednesday

A dramatic recreation of Jarlshof Broch in the mid 5th century painted by Alan Sorrell in 1951 for the Ministry of Works Scotland (now Historic Scotland @welovehistory)

The colour version is sadly seldom reproduced today

#HillfortsWednesday