Abstract
The sequence from palisaded settlement through enclosed with stone entrances, to enclosed with limited control of access, abandonment and brief reoccupation can be now outlined and given a provisional chronology based on radiocarbon dating, likely length of life of timbers, and the time required for gateways to collapse. The process of gateway burning can be compared with vitrification where forts are located on different geology. The sequence of entrances and the stone guard chambers are briefly compared with those at other hillforts. The role of the palisade and chevaux-de-frise, and later the earthworks and gateways, can be considered from a range of standpoints, based on theoretical position and the types of analogies and assumptions made about the Iron Age. One view emphasises a military function for hillforts, and another a community social role for enclosure and monumentality. Alternative narratives illustrate these different perspectives, and both could be argued and supported by the excavated evidence.
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Mytum, H. (2013). Context, Function, Meaning. In: Monumentality in Later Prehistory. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8027-3_15
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