People lived at Danebury Hill Fort during the Iron Age, around 2500 years ago.

Danebury was a safe place to live as the people were protected behind man-made ramparts, ditches and gates and had a good view of their enemies attacking them!

The Iron Age people are sometimes referred to as Celts and they belonged to different tribes. They farmed the land around Danebury, traded and sometimes fought with other tribes.

Danebury Hill Fort Explorer SheetThis sheet was produced with ideas from the children of Balksbury Junior and Wherwell Primary schools

Gates

This is what Danebury may have looked like in the Iron Age. You can see the roundhouses, gates and grain pits.

Gates

Grain pit

Woman weaving

www.hants.gov.uk/danebury

Welcome to Danebury

Danebury is a very important part of our

heritage and is protected both as a Scheduled

Ancient Monument (SAM) and a Site of

Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Many people visit Danebury because of the

Iron Age hillfort on the summit. It was

constructed 2500 years ago and occupied for

400 years by a tribe of at least 300 people.

The name Danebury comes from the Old

English “dun” meaning hill and “bury” meaning

camp.You can see seven other hillforts from

Danebury, all part of a complex Iron Age

landscape of forts, farms and fields.

Danebury is one of the most intensively

studied Iron Age sites in Europe.You can

discover more about it, and see some of the

finds from the excavations, by visiting the

Museum of the Iron Age in Andover,

6 Church Close, Andover.

01264 366283.

www.hants.gov.uk/museum/ironagem/

Wildlife at Danebury

Much of the hill is covered by chalk downland, a

very scarce and valuable habitat.Wildflowers

growing here include pyramidal orchids, wild

thyme and marjoram. Skylarks and butterflies,

such as Marbled Whites, flourish on the grassland

slopes. Juniper is an unusual shrub which is found

at Danebury, with its sharp black berries used to

flavour gin.

Grazing is essential to maintain a balance of

grassland and scrub.The Countryside Service,

who manage the site, have a partnership with a

local grazier to provide conservation grazing.

The flock of Manx Loghtan sheep and the

Dexter cows are hardy breeds, similar to the

animals living here during the Iron Age. Please

keep dogs on leads near livestock and do not

take them inside the hillfort.

Please help us to protect Danebury and keep it a

pleasant place to visit.We ask visitors not to

cycle, use metal detectors or light fires at

Danebury and also to pick up after their dogs.

If you wish to visit with an organised group – or

would like a guided walk – please phone the

Countryside Service on 01962 860948.

www.hants.gov.uk/countryside/danebury/

We hope that you enjoy your visit

Iron Age Hill Fort

You are here

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Stones were thrown from slingshots in battle. 11,000 of these were buried at Danebury in a pit. They would have caused serious injury!

Here are three skulls from Iron Age people. All show signs of injury made by Iron Age weapons. Why not come to The Museum of the Iron Age in Andover to have a closer look?

Can you guess what this is? It is a walnut sized meteorite found in one of the special pits built at Danebury to store grain. Do you know where meteorites come from?

Some exciting things discovered at Danebury!

Spot the differenceThis figure is dressed for battle. Can you spot all 5 differences in his costume?

Spot the difference answers: shield, spear tip, belt buckle, helmet, cape. Extra word in word search: druids

2000 BC 1000 BC 550 BC AD 43 1066 2000

First Metal WorkersDanebury Occupied

Bronze Age Iron Age Romans Saxons Medieval

Norman ConquestRoman ConquestDanebury Built

If you would like to know more about the Iron Age why not visit the Museum of the Iron Age in Andover. Postcode: SP10 1DP

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RoundhouseWord SearchFind the words in bold

The Iron Age people lived at Danebury Hill Fort in roundhouses and were protected by gates and ramparts. They ate bread made from grain, made clothes from wool and fought battles with stones and slingshots.There is an extra word too. Can you find it?Clue: Iron Age priest

The Iron Age was only

70 generations ago!