Site Event/Activity record ECH3165 - Excavations at Maiden Castle, 1980 - 1981

Erosion on the south side of the fort necessitated excavation to explore exposed burnt wood and structural aspects of the rampart. This work was carried out along the sandstone trail. An interim report (SCH7290) stated that a final report would be produced in 1982 (1). Some of the results of the excavations are published by a BA Thesis dated 1982, but the focus of that thesis is the magnetic properties of organic materials recovered (School of Geography), and is not a final excavation report (2). Limited excavations were carried out by Dr J Taylor of the University of Liverpool around the area at the south-western end of the ramparts, where they are crossed by the Sandstone Trail, prior to repair work on an eroded section of the path. This primarily involved the removal of burnt wood from the outer rampart fro radiocarbon dating. The excavations on the southern edge of the site at this time also apparently identified a stone curb, interpreted as having formed part of a postern or secondary entrance (3).