Hill fort

Maiden Castle is a hillfort in Devon, England. At the time, the ditches were deeper than they are now. There were also wooden pallisades

Dunadd hill fort near Kilmartin, in Scotland. This design is similar to the ring-forts in Ireland and the Castros in Spain

A hill fort is a fortified refuge or defended settlement. It is usually in a place that rises from the sourrounding area. This is done to exploit this rise for military advantage. The fortification usually follows the shape of the hill. Usually it is made of one or more lines of earthworks. There may also be stockades or defensive walls, and external ditches.

Hill forts were built since the Stone Age. They are most common during later periods though:

• Urnfield culture (c. 1300 BC - 750 BC) Bronze Age
• Hallstatt culture (c. 1200 BC - 500 BC) late Bronze Age to early Iron Age
• La Tene culture (c. 600 BC - 50 AD) late Iron Age

There are many different kinds of hill forts, they were very common. In Europe, the Celts used them for a very long time.