What is a hillfort used for?

A hillfort 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 Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roman period.

What is a hillfort ks2?

To protect themselves, they built forts on the tops of hills. Some hill forts were almost like small towns. They were full of wooden houses with thatched roofs made of straw. These hill forts gave the tribes an excellent view, allowing them to see enemies coming from miles away.

What does a hillfort look like?

Hill forts were built on hilltops and surrounded by huge banks (mounds) of soil and ditches. They were protected by wooden walls which kept enemies out. They were home to many people, who would have lived in wooden houses with thatched roofs made out of straw. Strongholds such as hill forts were built for protection.

Why did Celts live in Hillforts?

Most Celts lived in scattered farming communities surrounded by a bank with wooden fencing and a ditch to keep out intruders and wild animals. Farmers grew wheat and barley, and reared sheep, goats, pigs and cattle. Sometimes groups of houses were built on the top of hills. These are called hill-forts.

What is an Iron Age ditch?

In archaeology, a ring ditch is a trench of circular or penannular plan, cut into bedrock. They are usually identified through aerial photography either as soil marks or cropmarks.

How did they build Hillforts?

The construction of a hillfort was a massive engineering and logistical task. It has been estimated it would take 150 men about four months to construct an eight-acre enclosure with a single bank and ditch, using nothing more than antler picks, wooden spades and woven baskets to transport the soil.

When did people stop living in Hillforts?

There are over 2,000 Iron Age hillforts known in Britain. By about 350 BC many hillforts went out of use and the remaining ones were reinforced. Why so many went out of use is not known. Perhaps people had begun to meet together as larger tribal groups in just a few of the most important hillforts.

Who used Hillforts?

ancient Britons
Hill forts developed in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, roughly the start of the first millennium BC, and were in use by the ancient Britons until the Roman conquest. There are around 3,300 structures that can be classed as hillforts or similar “defended enclosures” within Britain, all worthy of considering.

What was inside a Celtic roundhouse?

Large families lived in a roundhouse. The walls were made of daub (straw, mud and tail) and the roof of straw. The Celts would light a fire in the middle of the roundhouse for cooking and heating.

How many Hillforts are in Ireland?

There are approximately 108 hillforts in Ireland (Fig. 1). Those with securely dated enclosing elements indicate a Late Bronze Age construction horizon, beginning at the transition from the Middle Bronze Age to the Late Bronze Age (1400–1100 BC) and continuing until the latter part of the Late Bronze Age (c. 800 BC).