Maiden Castle (8)
This grass covered hillfort in Southern England has doubtless been the site of many battles down the ages, but none can have been bloodier than the one which took place in AD44. It was in this year that Vespasian led the Roman Army westward through the country, subduing and conquering as he went.
Until this time Maiden Castle had been reckoned invincible, but the Romans attacked it with flaming arrows, setting fire to the huts within the mighty earth walls of the citadel. They then fought their way in through the eastern gate and slaughtered the inhabitants.
The devastation was such that traces of the conflagration still remained, almost 2,000 years later, in the soil.