Oldbury Camp

Oldbury Camp is the largest Iron Age multivallate hillfort in south-eastern England, built around 100 BC by Celtic British tribes on a hilltop west of Ightham, Kent. The defences form a rough diamond shape measuring 1,350 m north-south by 700 m east-west, enclosing about 50 hectares with entrances at the north-east and south. A V-shaped ditch was cut and spoil heaped into a bank as the primary defence. The fort was likely a temporary refuge rather than permanent settlement. It was abandoned around the time of Caesar's invasions of Britain (55-54 BC), with evidence of burning at the northern gate suggesting possible Roman assault. The site is now owned by the National Trust.