Early Fortifications

• Iron Age Hill-forts
• Rocky outcrops
• Steep slopes and ditches
• Roman rectangular forts

Iron Age hill-forts

To avoid being attacked either by fellow humans or wild animals and without the luxury of a stone castle the best defence for Iron Age people was to live somewhere that was difficult for those attackers to get at. This is how primitive people planned their defences. By living somewhere from which they could see attackers coming and somewhere they could easily defend early humans were able to survive. A common tactic was to live on top of a hill which could be made steeper using banks of earth and surrounded by water filled ditches. These fortifications are now known as hill-forts. How good a hill-fort was at defence was based on the height of the banks and depth of the ditches. The remains of many hill-forts survive to the present day including Cadbury Castle and Old Sarum. Where possible the people who planned these fortifications used natural defences such as high cliffs and and rocky coastlines. Having several sides of the fortification protected by unclimbable cliffs meant there was less area for a defender to defend. The only problem with this type of design was that it was difficult to escape if attackers did manage to penetrate the fort.

The Romans

When the Romans arrived they brought their own methods of defence. Their forts tended to consist of large rectangular compounds built from either wood or stone. Wooden forts were built where stone was not available or where there was less need for a strong defence. A ditch around the outside of the fort added an extra level of security. The purpose of the Roman fort was to house a garrison of soldiers. Existing example include Porchester Castle.

Re-use

After the Romans left some of the old abandoned ancient forts were refortified by the Britains to protect themselves from the invading Saxons. A good example of this is Cadbury Hill Fort in Somerset. The site is so big it could hold several entire armies at one time and is supposed to be a site that King Arthur used. The Saxons then reused these ancient strongholds, adding their own defences and many were in use in the medieval era.