Portal:Cheshire/Selected article/21
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Maiden Castle, a Scheduled Ancient Monument, is one of the seven Iron Age hill forts, or fortified hill-top settlements, in Cheshire. The name probably means a "fortification that looks impregnable" or one that has never been taken in battle. Maiden Castle is an outlier from the other Cheshire hill forts, lying around 9 miles to the south of the southernmost group. It stands at 212 metres elevation on Bickerton Hill at the southern end of the Mid Cheshire Ridge, near the village of Bickerton.
The hill fort was probably occupied from its construction in 600 BC until the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century AD. The remaining earthworks include two semicircular banks 11 metres apart which partially enclose an area of 6,700 square metres; the northern and western sides had no artificial defences, being protected by the steep slopes of the hill. The main entrance was on the east side of the fort. Excavations were carried out on the site in 1935–38 and 1980–81.
Maiden Castle is owned by the National Trust. The site is open to visitors, but unrestricted access has resulted in it being classified as "at high risk" from erosion.