Abstract
The topography of the original promontory can be reconstructed from the buried soil surfaces beneath the ramparts, and putative models for the northern palisade are proposed. The chronology of the palisade settlement is tight, limited to one lifetime of posts in the palisade as there was no replacement. The posts were still upright when the rampart construction began, and so the palisade has a maximum life of c. 40 years. This allows consideration of the resource implications of constructing the palisade and initial settlement, and suggests a landscape already managed with coppiced woodland, and the settlers quarrying for packing stones. The arguments for a defensive and a symbolic or psychological role of the palisade and chevaux-de-frise are discussed.
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Mytum, H. (2013). The Palisaded Settlement: Its Size, Character and Environmental Impact. In: Monumentality in Later Prehistory. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8027-3_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8027-3_6
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