Early occupation of the site from South Cadbury. Displayed at the
Museum of Somerset,
Taunton. The earliest settlement on the site is represented by pits and post holes dated with
Neolithic pottery and
flints. These are the remains of a small agricultural settlement which was unenclosed. Bones recovered from the site have been
radiocarbon dated to 3500 and 3300 BC. Radical revisions of the Bronze Age archaeology on the lower slopes resulted from discoveries during excavations and survey work by the South Cadbury Environs Project. Finds include the first Bronze Age shield from an excavation in northwest Europe, an example of the distinctive
Yetholm-type. The shield dates from the period 1350–1150 BC. A metal-working building and associated enclosure were discovered south east of the hillfort, roughly contemporary with the period of manufacture. Some of the diagnostic pottery for the early phases of the site were discovered by
Mary Harfield. Human occupation continued throughout the Iron Age. A stone
enclosure was constructed around 300 BC with timber
revetting, and ploughing ceased within the hilltop site. Excavations have shown the signs of four and six post rectangular buildings which were gradually replaced with
roundhouses. Large ramparts and elaborate timber defences were constructed and refortified over the following centuries. Excavation revealed round and rectangular house foundations, metalworking, and a possible sequence of small rectangular temples or shrines of
Celtic polytheism, indicating permanent
oppidum-like occupation. Excavations were undertaken by local clergyman James Bennett in 1890 and
Harold St George Gray in 1913, followed by major work led by archaeologist
Leslie Alcock from 1966 to 1970. He identified a long sequence of occupation on the site and many of the finds are displayed in the
Museum of Somerset in
Taunton. The finds from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age, exploring the ramparts and southwestern gate structure, represent one of the deepest and most complex Iron Age
stratigraphic sequences excavated in southern Britain.
Hillfort During the first century BC, additional lines of bank and ditch were constructed, turning it into a hillfort which is now known as the
castle. There is evidence that the fort was violently taken around AD 43 and that the defences were further
slighted later in the first century after the construction of a Roman army barracks on the hilltop. Excavations of the southwest gate in 1968 and 1969 revealed evidence for one or more severe violent episodes associated with weaponry and destruction by fire. Leslie Alcock believed this to have been dated to around AD 70, whereas Richard Tabor argues for a date associated with the initial invasion around AD 43 or 44. Michael Havinden states that it was the site of vigorous resistance by the
Durotriges and
Dobunni to the
second Augusta Legion under the command of
Vespasian. There was significant activity at the site during the late third and fourth centuries, which may have included the construction of a Romano-British temple.
Post-Roman occupation Following the
withdrawal of the Roman administration, the site is thought to have been in use from until some time after 580.
Medieval period According to the
Domesday Book, Cadbury Castle appears to have been part of the feudal barony of
North Cadbury held by
Turstin FitzRolf in 1086. Some small-scale fortification of the site may also have occurred in the 13th century. ==Arthurian interpretation==