A
hill fort is a type of earthwork used as a
fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the
Bronze and
Iron Ages. The fortification usually follows the contours of the hill, consisting of one or more lines of
earthworks, with
stockades or
defensive walls, and external ditches.
Nomenclature
The terms "hill fort", "hill-fort" and "hillfort" are all used in the archaeological literature. They all refer to an elevated site with one or more ramparts made of earth, stone and/or wood, with an external ditch. Many small early hill forts were abandoned with the larger ones being redeveloped at a later date.
Chronology
Some European hill forts originate in the late
Neolithic period, but they are most common during later periods:
Hill forts were in use in many
Celtic areas of central and western Europe until the
Roman conquest.
Julius Caesar described the large late
Iron Age hill forts he encountered during his campaigns in
Gaul as
oppida. By this time the larger ones had become more like cities than fortresses and many were assimilated as Roman towns.
Some hill forts in England were re-used in the Post-Roman period and again in the Anglo-Saxon period as mint locations.
Types of hill fort
Beyond the simple definition of
hill fort, there is a wide variation in types and periods from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages.
Here are some considerations of general appearance and topology, which can be assessed without archaeological excavation:
- * Hilltop Contour: the classic hill fort; an inland location with a hilltop defensive position surrounded by artificial ramparts or steep natural slopes. Examples: Brent Knoll, Mount Ipf.
- * Inland Promontory: an inland defensive position on a ridge or spur with steep slopes on 2 or 3 sides, and artificial ramparts on the level approaches. Example: Lambert's Castle.
- * Interfluvial: a promontory above the confluence of two rivers, or in the bend of a meander. Example: Kelheim.
- * Lowland: an inland location without special defensive advantages (except perhaps marshes), but surrounded by artificial ramparts; typical of later settled oppida. Examples: Maiden Castle, Stonea Camp.
- * Sea Cliff: a semi-circular crescent of ramparts backing on to a straight sea cliff; common on rocky Atlantic coasts, such as Ireland. Examples: Daw's Castle, Dinas Dinlle, Dún Aengus.
- * Sea Promontory: a linear earthwork across a narrow neck of land leading to a peninsula with steep cliffs to the sea on three sides; common on indented Atlantic coasts, such as Ireland, Cornwall, Brittany and west Wales. Examples: The Rumps, Huelgoat.
- * Sloping Enclosure: smaller earthwork on gently sloping hillsides; not significant defensive position. Examples: Trendle Ring, Plainsfield Camp.
- * > 20 ha: very large enclosures, too diffuse to defend, probably used for domesticated animals.
- * 1 - 20 ha: defended areas large enough to support permanent tribal settlement.
- * < 1 ha: small enclosures, more likely to be individual farmsteads or animal pens.
- Ramparts, walls and ditches
- * Univallate: a single circuit of ramparts for enclosure and defence. Example: Solsbury Hill.
- * Multivallate: more than one layer of defensive earthworks, outer works might not be complete circuits, but defend the weakest approaches; typically the inner circuit is original, with outer circuits added later. Example: Cadbury Castle.
- * Simple opening: might indicate an enclosure, rather than a defended position; sometimes the main ramparts may turn inward or outward, and be widened and heightened to control the entrance. Example: Dowsborough.
- * Linear holloway: straight parallel pair of ramparts dominating the entrance; projecting either inward, outward, or occasionally overlapped along the main rampart. Example: Norton Camp.
- * Complex: multiple overlapping outer works; staggered or interleaved multivallate ramparts; zig-zag entrance way, sling platforms and well planned lines of fire. Examples: Maiden Castle.
Some forts were also settlements, while others were only occupied seasonally, or in times of strife.
Archaeological excavation reveals more about the dates of occupation and modes of use. Typical features for excavation include:
- * Original depths and profiles of ditches.
- * Guardhouses and defended entrances.
- Settlement and occupation
- * Post holes for rectangular granary huts.
- * Coins, jewellery and hoards.
- Temples and peacetime burials
- * Platforms and temple foundations.
- * Weapons: sling-shot, shields, armour, swords, axes, spears, arrows.
- * Sieges and conquest: ballista bolts, ash layers, vitrified stones, burnt post holes.
- * Wartime burials: typically outside the ramparts:
- ** Contemporary individual burials by local inhabitants.
- ** Massed grave pits dug by a conquering army.
Hill forts were frequently occupied by conquering armies, but on other occasions the forts were destroyed, the local people forcibly evicted, and the forts left derelict. For example,
Solsbury Hill was sacked and deserted during the
Belgic invasions of southern
Britain in the 1st century BC. Abandoned forts were sometimes reoccupied and refortified under renewed threat of foreign invasion, such as the Dukes' Wars in
Lithuania, and the successive invasions of Britain by
Romans,
Saxons and
Vikings.
Hill forts by country
Scandinavia and Russia
In
Scandinavia and northern
Russia,
hill forts are fortifications from the
Iron Age which may have had several functions. They are usually located on the crests of hills and mountains making use of precipices and
marshes which worked as natural defenses. The crests' more accessible parts were defended with walls of stone and outer walls in the slopes beneath are common. Round and closed, so called,
ring forts are common even on flat ground. The walls often have remaining parts of stone, which were probably the support of pales. They often have well delineated gateways, the gates of which were probably of wood. Hill forts with strong walls are often located beside old
trading routes and have an offensive character, whereas others are reclusive and were weakly fortified, probably only for hiding during raids.
Many forts, located centrally in densely populated areas, were permanently settled strongholds and can show traces of settlements both inside and outside. Older place names containing the element
sten/
stein were usually hill forts.
In
Sweden, there are 1100 known hill forts with a strong concentration on the northern west coast and in eastern
Svealand. Only in
Södermanland, there are 300, in
Uppland 150,
Östergötland 130 and
Bohuslän and
Gotland 90-100 each.
In
Gotland,
ring forts can be from the
Pre-Roman Iron Age, but findings from the period 200 AD- 600 AD dominate. Many were still in use during the
Middle Ages.
The
Finnish word for
hill fort is
linnavuori (plural
linnavuoret), from
linna () and
vuori (). Finnish castles were usually constructed of wood.
Examples
Lithuania and Estonia
The
Lithuanian word for
hill fort is
piliakalnis (plural
piliakalniai), from
pilis (=castle) and
kalnas (=mountain, hill).
Lithuania has hill forts dating from the
Bronze Age in the
1st millennium BC. The earliest examples in present day Lithuania are found in the east of the country. Most of these forts were built or expanded between the fifth and fifteenth centuries, when they were used in the Dukes' Wars, and against the invasion of
Teutonic Knights from the west. Most forts were located on the banks of a river, or a confluence where two rivers met. These fortifications were typically wooden, although some had additional stone or brick walls. The hill was usually sculpted for defensive purposes, with the top flattened and the natural slopes made steeper for defense.
During the early years of
Grand Duchy of Lithuania piliakalniai played a major role in conflicts with the
Livonian Order and the
Teutonic Knights. During this period the number of
piliakalniai decreased, but those that remained had stronger fortifications. Two main defense lines developed: one along the
Neman River (against the Teutonic Order) and another along the border with
Livonia. Two other lines started to form, but did not fully develop. One was to protect
Vilnius, the capital, and the other line in
Samogitia, was a major target for both orders. This territory separated the two Orders and prevented joint action between them and Pagan Lithuania.
Most of the forts were constructed of wood and were quite easy to burn. As firearms and artillery developed,
piliakalnis and their castles became ineffective. Also, the Livonian Order was defeated in 1236 in the
Battle of Saule. The Teutonic Knights suffered a major defeat in 1410 in the
Battle of Grunwald and did not pose any further major threat.
According to the
Lietuvos piliakalnių atlasas (English:
Atlas of Piliakalniai in Lithuania), there were 826
piliakalniai in Lithuania. Some researchers present a total number of 840 known
piliakalnis in 2007; the number is likely to increase as even more of them are discovered every year. Most
piliakalniai are located near rivers and are endangered by
erosion: many have partly collapsed as the flooded river has washed out the base of the hill. Now around 80 percent of
piliakalniai are covered by forests and are hardly accessible to visitors.
Estonia
Varbola ruins
The
Estonian word for
hill fort is
linnamägi (plural
linnamäed), meaning
hillfort or
hillburgh. There are several hundred hill forts or presumed ancient hill fort sites all over Estonia. Some of them - like
Toompea in Tallinn or
Toomemägi in Tartu are governance centres used since ancient times up until today. Some others, like
Varbola are historical sites nowadays.
Most likely the Estonian hill forts were in pre-Christian times administrative, economic and military centres of
Estonian tribes. Although some of them were probably used only during times of crisis and stood empty in peacetime (for example Soontagana in Koonga parish,
Pärnu county.
Examples
- Kernavė, (Lithuania, a World Heritage Site)
See also
- Pilėnai, a heroic story of piliakalnis defense
==
