What is a hillfort?
Some hillforts were used for defence only, some as distribution and gathering places, some as defended settlements and others as powerful focal points for large areas. Whilst most hillforts were used in the Iron Age period, we suspect that Kinver Hillfort has origins earlier in the Late Bronze Age.
Detecting the past
No archaeological investigations have ever been carried out at Kinver Hillfort, but we can detect certain clues to its past by looking at what remains here and in the wider landscape.
It was an important place and a strong fortress, part of a landscape of farmland and smaller settlements. Two sides are formed by huge banks called ramparts which you can still see today, but would have been much higher than they are now. The ramparts would have probably had a wall or palisaded fence on the top. The other two sides make use of the natural promontory to provide defence – using the fantastic views which you can still enjoy to watch out for potential enemies.
Inside the hillfort was probably a group of roundhouses, and when the conditions are right (usually in winter) you can make out traces of circular depressions left behind by these buildings. There is evidence for a blocked up entrance to the east side of the fort that shows it was probably repaired during its lifetime. We are very near the boundary between two important Iron Age tribes, and this border is now mirrored by the county boundary of Worcestershire and Staffordshire.