rom the middle Bronze Age, less communal effort went into the construction of ceremonial monuments such as Stonehenge and more on activities such as the creation of fields.[11] In the Iron Age, probably about 700 BC, a major hillfort later known as Vespasian’s Camp was constructed 1¼ miles east of Stonehenge overlooking the river Avon.[12] Stonehenge appears to have been frequently visited in the Roman period (from AD 43), since many Roman objects have been found there.[13] Recent excavations raised the possibility that it was a place of ritual importance to Romano-British people.[14] The small town of Amesbury is likely to have been established around the 6th century AD at a crossing point over the Avon. A decapitated man, possibly a criminal, was buried at Stonehenge in the Saxon period.[15] From this time on, sheep husbandry dominated the open downland around Stonehenge.[16] The earliest surviving written references to Stonehenge date from the medieval period, and from the 14th century onwards there are increasing references to Stonehenge and drawings and paintings of it (see Research on Stonehenge).