History
The date and purpose of the construction the ramparts at Carl Wark is uncertain, it has been described as being "unlike any other found in Northern England." It is widely postulated to be a hill fort of Iron Age origin, perhaps dating from the 8th to the 5th centuries BC, though a similar enclosure at Gardom's Edge has been dated to the late Bronze Age, between 1300 and 900 BC. There is no evidence of settlement within the enclosure so it is unlikely that the site was used for a continuously occupied fort; it may have been used as a place of refuge for a population living in the surrounding area or it may have had some ceremonial purpose.
Antiquarian Hayman Rooke, writing in 1785, gave one of the earliest descriptions of the structure. He thought that it was built by the British celtic peoples, and surmised that "it is natural to imagine, from the many sacred erections, that this place must have been intended for holy uses, or a court of justice". In 1861 historian John Gardner Wilkinson wrote that the site "bears the marked characteristics of an ancient British fort", whilst antiquarian and barrow-digger Thomas Bateman stated that he thought the encampment had been set up as a defence against Constantine the Great during the Roman rule of Britain. Isaac Chalkley Gould also dismissed Rooke's idea that the enclosure had a sacred use, writing that it may have been used as a temporary fortified camp or refuge. Following a limited excavation of the turf embankment by Frank Gerald Simpson in 1950, Cecily Margaret Piggott (the wife of Stuart Piggott) concluded that the rampart was constructed in the Early Middle Ages possibly in the 5th or 6th centuries as it is similar in construction techniques to some ramparts of this period in Scotland. More recent assessments suggest that the site may have been in use since the Neolithic period, perhaps with multiple uses and phases of construction.
The origin of the name Carl Wark is unknown. Rooke used the name "Cair's Work" in his 1785 description, whereas Bateman used "Carleswark". Sheffield historian and folklorist S. O. Addy, writing in 1893, posited that the name is Old Norse in origin, meaning 'The Old Man's Fort', where the 'Old Man' refers to the devil—suggesting that the 9th to 10th century Danish settlers in the area regarded the enclosure as ancient and mysterious.
Carl Wark features in the 1987 film The Princess Bride.
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