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Maes Knoll & The Dobunni
The Maes Knoll (also known as Maes Knoll tump) is an Iron Age Hillfort that lies at the Eastern end of Dundry and lies in the parish of Norton Malreward. It's name derives from the Brythonic (Celtic) word maes meaning flat top and knoll or knowle meaning hill.
It is believed to have been built around 250 BC by the Dobunni who were one of the Celtic tribes living in the British Isles prior to the Roman invasion. The hillfort, which is approximately 119m x 26m and 14m in height covers around 20 acres consists of a large flat open area, roughly triangular in shape and has been fortified with ramparts and the shaping of the steep sides of the hill around the northern, eastern and south-western edges.
The iron age started around 1200 BC and was the final age in the pre-history division after Stone Age and Bronze Age. Thus named after the smelting of Iron tools and weapons replaced their bronze equivalents in common use.
Hillforts in Britain started to develop in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, around 1000 BC. Their purpose has always been a subject of debate and could possibly differ depending on location however they could have been military sites constructed to combat against invaders or a reaction to social tensions caused by population increase and the growing pressure on agriculture. One of the more dominant views is that the increase use of iron led to social changes in Britain. Iron Ore was found in different places to the copper and tin used to make bronze, therefore trading patterns shifted and the old elite lost their power. Built to house up to 1000 people they acted as tribal centres, a place to defend and also a focus for religion and production.
The Dobunni Tribe
The Dobunni tribe lived in central Britain, in an area that today broadly covers North Somerset & Gloucestershire but also parts of Herefordshire , Worcestershire and Wiltshire. They were farmers and craftsmen, living in small villages which were concentrated in fertile valleys, some living in fortified camps and hillforts such as the Maes Knoll, Clifton Down, Burwalls, Stokeleigh, Kingsweston Down and Blaise. Their name is believed to have originated from "Bodunni" (as documented by the Romans) which comes from the Celtic bouda, meaning Victorious.
The Dobunni were one of the tribes that issued coins prior to the Roman invasion. They are dated between 50 BC and 43 AD and are known for having a branched emblem on one side as shown in this gold stater.
The Roman Invasion
Unlike some of it's neighbours, the Dobunni were not a warlike people. After the invasion in 43 AD, they submitted to the Romans without a fight and were subsequently incorporated into the Roman Empire. Their territory was divided into a civitas which was centred on Cirencester and the Colonia at Gloucester and which lay in the province of Britannia Prima.
Looking at the evidence we have in Whitchurch of a Roman VIlla, it is of no surprise as to why this was an important place to settle due to the locality of the Dobunni living in the hillfort.
It would have been quite a view from the Maes Knoll as the Roman legions approached.
The Wansdyke
Thought to date from around the 5th or 6th century, the Wansdyke is a 35 mile earthwork (now in sections) which stretches from Wiltshire to the lower slopes of the Maes Knoll. It faces to the North and would have served as a defensive border between lands, possibly the native Britons and the Anglo-Saxons although there are some arguments that it may have been constructed by the Romans, although this is less likely. You can see from the diagram opposite that it wraps around the north of the Knoll and off to the East. This could suggest that the hillfort still had some use beyond the Roman occupation as a part of this defensible border?
Second World War
During the Second World War, there was a small rectangular, corrugated-iron hut on the top of the tump which sheltered several of Dundry's Home Guard, allowing them to spot enemy aircraft and potential parachute or glider invasions of Bristol.