Maiden Castle Romano-Celtic Temple – Quick Facts

Where

Dorchester, Dorset MapWebsite

When

  • A Romano-Celtic temple built in the late 4thcentury at the top of the abandoned Iron Age hillfort of Maiden Castle. It was built over an Iron Age hut.
  • A statue of Minerva was discovered at the temple, along with many coins and statues.
  • Several hundred people lived inside the hillfort when the Romans invaded Britain.

What Remains

  • Outlines of the stone foundation walls of the central room and the ambulatory that surrounded it.
  • Beside the temple are the foundation outlines of a two-room building that may have been a priest’s house.
  • Maiden Castle is the largest and most complex of Iron Age hillforts in Europe and its impressive remains include massive ramparts surrounding an area the size of 50 football pitches.