Why did Celts build Hill Forts in the Iron Age? History Documentary

 

Why did Celts of the British Isles build over 4000 hill forts during the Iron Age? The answer may have something to do with the conflict between those Bronze Age cowboys who maintained traditional pastoralist transhumance lifestyles, and those in the forts who depended more on arable farming. This can also explain why British Celts were the most lactose tolerant people on Earth at that time. In this documentary I visited Barbury Castle in Wiltshire, Castle an Dinas in Cornwall and several other magnificent Iron Age hill forts.

Sources:
 

• Patterson, N. et al. Large-scale migration into Britain during the Middle to Late Bronze Age. Nature 601, 588–594 (2022) 
• Valdez-Tullett A. Sheep in Wealth’s Clothing: Social Reproduction across the Bronze Age to Iron Age Transition in Wiltshire, Southern England. European Journal of Archaeology. 2017;20(4):663-681. doi:10.1017/eaa.2016

 

Art created for Survive the Jive by Christian Sloan Hall and Alex Cristi. Other images are owned by their respective creators as credited on screen. 

 

Celtic punk enjoys some milk