Maiden Bower hillfort

Maiden Bower is an Iron Age hillfort near Houghton Regis situated on a chalk plateau close to Dunstable. The fortification encloses roughly 5 hectares and features a single rampart that rises up to 3 meters high with traces of internal layouts visible across the enclosed area.

The hillfort was established during the Iron Age with settlement evidence from that era. Excavations in 1913 uncovered a timber gateway and a large pit holding human remains, providing insights into daily life and activities at the site during ancient times.

The site demonstrates the evolution of defensive structures from the Neolithic period through the Iron Age, with evidence of Roman occupation afterward.

Access to the site is available via marked pathways across the grassland, though visitors should prepare for uneven ground and damp areas. The northern section bears scars from past quarrying, which limits access to certain parts of the fortification.

A 1991 survey detected a substantial concentric enclosure surrounding the main rampart, hinting at an older Neolithic causewayed structure underneath. This inner layout is subtle today but suggests the site may have had earlier phases of use beyond what was initially recorded.