origins of the site

• what was Maldon called back then?

  Mael-dun = Latin for 'cross on a hill'
• what was Maldon's landscape described as being?

  a hilltop home surrounded by woodland, water and marshes
• why did the woodlands encourage settlement?

  -provided building resources

  -food sources (e.g. hunting / berries)

  -fuel resources -> wood for fire/cooking

  -acted as a defense mechanism surrounding the 'hilltop home'
• why did water encourage settlement?

  -freshwater supplies

  -defensive mechanism

  -world trade/ coastal shipping

  -inshore fishing (food supply)
• why did marshes encourage settlement?

  -salt evaporation (traded for income)

  -herding cattle (food sources)

  -wild-fowling
• why did a hilltop encourage settlement?

  -defensive mechanism - protection against floods

  -gave panoramic views of land - spot invaders
• which historian recounted these facts?

  William Petchey