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Striking new structures
Towards the end of the Bronze Age, and even more so during the early Iron Age, a series of striking new structures began to appear in Europe. In a belt stretching from Britain, through Belgium and northern France to southern Germany and Slovakia, large numbers of fortified settlements known as hillforts began to be constructed in upland areas.
Often enclosing huge areas within massive banks and ditches, these must have represented an immense investment of time and labour for the communities that built them. Typically reaching between one and six hectares (about eight football pitches) in size, some of the biggest such as Maiden Castle in Dorset were many times as big again.
Hillfort building reached its peak at different times in different places. In most of Europe, including Britain, where there are more than 2,000 known hillfort sites, the great majority seem to have been built during the fifth and sixth centuries BC. Most of these were abandoned after around 400-350 BC, however, with only a very much smaller number continuing in use.
'Developed hillforts'
These 'developed hillforts', as those that continued in use are called by archaeologists, include some of the best-known Iron-Age sites in Britain, such as Maiden Castle, Cadbury Castle and Danebury (see Iron-Age hillforts: a few places to visit). Most of them have a series of huge ramparts encircling the site, together with elaborate entrance structures consisting of complex passageways and earthworks.
It is thought that the developed hillforts came to dominate their neighbours over a period of time. Weaker hillfort settlements may have been abandoned as a result of defeat in battle or peace treaties with their more dominant rivals. In time, just a small number of dominant leaders, or tribes, came to rule over the rest.
Climate and conflict
The initial development of hillforts during this period is traditionally ascribed to climatic deterioration and increasing population pressures leading to conflicts between neighbouring tribes. In Britain, it has also been associated with possible invasions or settlement by the peoples known as Celts.
It may be, however, that the hillforts of Iron-Age Britain had as much to do with expressions of status or prestige as with actual conflict. Some archaeologists have pointed out obvious defensive deficiencies in the structure of sites, many of which are only at their most impressive where they are most clearly visible, implying that their role as strongholds at times of war may be exaggerated. On the other hand, we know from the archaeological evidence, including finds such as slingshot, that some hillforts at least must have been the scenes of actual battles at some stage in their existence. Different hillforts could probably tell very different stories.
Different functions
There is also a huge range of different structures or settlements that fall under the general description of hillforts. Some probably served as small towns and administrative centres, while others show little or no sign of occupation inside the enclosed area. Some were occupied for several centuries; some appear hardly to have been used at all. Some evidently served very practical functions, as shown by the prevalence of grain storage pits and other structures at many sites; others seem to have had a more ceremonial purpose.
Whatever their individual functions and histories may have been, hardly any of them were in use by the later Iron Age. Some were reoccupied at the time of the Roman invasion, however, when they provided centres of resistance to the conquest. Unfortunately for their occupants, not even the likes of Maiden Castle could provide a bulwark against the might of the legions from Rome.