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Hillforts and oppida

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Hillforts and oppida are fortified settlements from the Iron Age, characterized by their elevated locations and defensive structures. Hillforts are typically smaller, often situated on hills, while oppida are larger, more complex urban centers that served as trade hubs and political centers, reflecting advanced social organization and economic activity in prehistoric Europe.
lightbulbAbout this topic
Hillforts and oppida are fortified settlements from the Iron Age, characterized by their elevated locations and defensive structures. Hillforts are typically smaller, often situated on hills, while oppida are larger, more complex urban centers that served as trade hubs and political centers, reflecting advanced social organization and economic activity in prehistoric Europe.

Key research themes

1. How were large empty spaces within Iron Age hillforts and oppida used, and what can archaeobotanical evidence reveal about their function?

This theme investigates the nature and function of large unbuilt areas inside Iron Age oppida and hillforts, focusing on understanding their internal spatial organization beyond buildings. This research matters because these empty spaces have been historically understudied despite their potential importance in interpreting urban planning, social life, and economic activities within these settlements. Multiproxy archaeobotanical methods provide direct evidence for land use and human activities, challenging or refining previous interpretations which were often based on theoretical or ethnographic models alone.

Key finding: Using a multiproxy archaeobotanical approach combining pollen, phytoliths, diatoms, charcoal, seeds, and parasites correlated with radiocarbon dating, this study demonstrated that the large unbuilt open space at La Terrasse... Read more
by Petra Golanova and 
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Key finding: Through systematic geophysical survey and multi-proxy soil analysis including geoarchaeology, macro-botanical remains, pollen, phytoliths, and diatoms, the research at Bibracte provided a renewed comprehension of the spatial... Read more
Key finding: Through integrating geophysical, pedestrian survey, and ethnographic data, this study at Monte Santa Croce-Cognolo identified minimal evidence for permanent habitation across a large 18ha fortified hillfort, instead... Read more

2. What characterizes the diverse trajectories of Iron Age oppida and hillforts in terms of urbanism, settlement organization, and socio-political function in Europe?

This theme explores the diverse forms and modes of urbanism represented by Iron Age oppida and hillforts across Europe, moving beyond classic concepts derived from Mediterranean models. It investigates whether these fortified sites represent early urban centers, low-density urbanism, proto-urbanism, or alternative socio-political entities. Understanding these trajectories is pivotal for contextualizing social complexity, power structures, and regional identities within the European Iron Age and assessing their relationship to contemporary and earlier settlement traditions.

Key finding: This paper argues that European Late Iron Age oppida correspond with forms of low-density urbanism characterized by polyfocal spatial organization, intermittent habitation densities, and negotiated power relations. It... Read more
Key finding: By comparing Bibracte (France) and Manching (Germany), this study identifies shared characteristics of large open spaces and low-density occupations within oppida that resemble global examples of 'Anomalous Giants'—large,... Read more
Key finding: Employing integrated micromorphology, micro-refuse, and geochemical analyses at the Pungrt hillfort, this research reveals fine-grained spatial organization indicative of household-level socio-economic structuring and... Read more
Key finding: Excavations and geophysical surveys at Pungrt elucidate its urban attributes in the Late Hallstatt phase (6th-4th centuries BC), including population density estimates, defense systems, and social-economic complexity,... Read more

3. How did hillforts function as expressions of social power, defense, and community identity in European Iron Age contexts?

This research theme focuses on the interpretative frameworks for hillfort function emphasizing social display, defensive utility, and political or military roles. It involves evaluating archaeological evidence such as fortification construction, artifact distributions, landscape placement, and mortuary practices to understand how hillforts symbolized elite power, community cohesion, and territorial control. This theme informs broader debates on social stratification and conflict in prehistoric Europe.

Key finding: This study articulates that Irish hillforts likely functioned primarily as monumental displays of power and community identity rather than solely as military fortifications. Comparative analysis highlights the variable scale... Read more
Key finding: By integrating survey and ceramic compositional analyses, this work reveals that early Iron Age Black Sea hillforts represented community mobilizations lacking strong hierarchical structures but featuring collective ritual... Read more
Key finding: Excavations uncovered diverse types of hillfort ramparts using wood and stone masonry, with direct evidence of wooden structural elements such as preserved charred beams, postholes, and impressions in clay. This provides... Read more

All papers in Hillforts and oppida

Ouvert en 1969 dans le cadre du programmes de recherches stratigraphiques de la Mission de Suse, le chantier dit de l'Acropole I a permis de distinguer dans l'histoire de Suse au cours du 4e millénaire trois périodes. La période I... more
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philippe gruAt avec la collaboration de BertrAnd frAncQueville et georges mArchAnd Architecture des remparts à poutrage interne du Puech de Mus à Sainte-Eulalie-de-Cernon (Aveyron) au cours des v e et iv e s. av. J.-C.
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As a result of the knowledge of the territory based on over 30 years of scientific studies, initiated when the first Municipal Master Plan was carried out, surface surveys and archaeological excavations, this article analyzes the spatial... more
The focus of the article is to summarise the results of archaeological research in 2020–2021 at the Pidkamin I site (Kamin tract), which is in Pidkamin village, Lviv Oblast. The site is located on a conical hill surrounded by a line of... more
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Die Heuneburg (Herbertingen-Hundersingen, Lkr. Sigmaringen) zählt zu den bedeutendsten Fundstätten Südwestdeutschlands. Hier befand sich über dem linken Ufer der Donau zwischen circa 620 und 450 v.Chr. (sog. späte Hallstattzeit) eine... more
The article examines a fortified position from World War I, discovered in Kleboniškis Forest, where narrow-gauge railway carts were repurposed as observation posts by reinforcing them with concrete. These cart-observation posts were... more
L’étude de la circulation monétaire antique nécessite de s’appuyer sur les découvertes archéologiques de monnaies perdues. Afin de mieux comprendre les dynamismes et les flux influençant l’économie locale, il est primordial de réaliser un... more
During the last two centuries BC, large fortified settlements known as oppida developed across extensive parts of temperate Europe, from France to Hungary and from Spain to Britain. Due to their significant size and socio-economic roles,... more
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Les cadastres d'Orange, monument épigraphique affiché dans l'ancienne colonie d'Orange, représentent les propriétés foncières des territoires des colonies romaines de la basse vallée du Rhône lors de la réforme fiscale de l'empereur... more
Dmytro V. Karavaiko, Yevhenii M. Osadchyi, Yurii M. Berest
ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN OKHTYRKA — THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WAR
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The journey of the Argonauts not only reveals the ancient routes and dimensions of the known world but also gives a glimpse into the material and intimate world of the eastern Mediterranean. Apollonius of Rhodes supplied the first useful... more
Úvod S přibývajícími archeologickými nálezy-ať již funerálních, sídlištních či jiných komponent-se nám v krajině postupně vytváří čím dál plastičtější obraz jejího využívání jak v jediném dějinném úseku (synchronní přístup), tak napříč... more
The sword scabbards of Late Iron Age are made of metallic plates on which the rust keeps track of surrounding perishable materials. On a funerary site, its analysis helps understanding how the military equipment was put down into the... more
In the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, the Lake Geneva basin and the Lower Valais were at the heart of a zone of Roman-Rheto-Celtic conflict, marked by various campaigns generally attributed to the expansion processes of the late Roman... more
Zenobie Garrett. We thank them both for these. Mark McConnon helped with finds processing and Lorna O'Donnell provided the plant identifications; our thanks go to both of them for their assistance. Our field school is a sponsored project... more
Dieses Kolloquium „Zur Eisenzeit zwischen Burgund und Osteuropa“ ist Ihnen, liebe Frau Professor Rieckhoff nachträglich zu Ihrem 60. Geburtstag gewidmet. Wir haben aber diesen Tag, den 10. August 2004, mit Ihnen und Ihrem Mann Dr. Ulrich... more
Les résultats présentés s'inscri\'ent dans Je cadre d'un programme collectif de recherche consacré au "Peuplement des limagnes d'All\'ergne à l'âge du Fer". co-d.irigé depuis sa mise en chantier. en 1990. par Clu-istine... more
Ce rapport expose les perspectives et le programme operationnel pour les annees 2003-2005 dans le cadre du programme de recherche sur le Mont Beuvray sous la direction scientifique de Bibracte (Vincent Guichard, directeur scientifique).
The Iron Age in western Eurasia is often imagined as a fragmented patchwork of localized ethnic entities defined by subtle differences in material culture forms rather than an expansive tapestry of communities undergoing broadly similar... more
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Although amongst the most iconic and clearly visible of prehistoric remains in Britain, Hillforts are generally poorly investigated and understood. There are some 3000 known sites in Britain and Ireland. A project run by Oxford and... more
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Straipsnyje analizuojami archeologinių tyrinėjimų, vykdytų teritorijoje tarp Kurpių gatvės ir Danės upės duomenys. Kompleksinis archeologinės, kartografinės bei istorinės medžiagos tyrinėjimas leidžia apibendrinti šiaurės vakarinės... more
Бабенко Леонід, Супруненко Олександр. Більський казан. ПКМ імені Василя Кричевського; ІКЗ «Більськ» Полтав. обл. ради. Харків, Полтава: ТОВ «Майдан», 2025. 16 с.: іл. (Музейні реліквії, вип. 20). Розповідь про «перлину» археологічної... more
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Скорий С. А, Білозор В. П., Супруненко О. Б., Кулатова І. М. Селища скіфського часу в системі Великого укріплення Більського городища: колективна монографія / НАН України, Ін-т археол.; ДКіТ Полтав. ОДА; ЦОДПА; ПКМ ім. В. Кричевського;... more
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An issue is dedicated to the «pearl» of museum archaeological gathering – cast bronze caldron of the late Scythian Time with zoomorphic image – highly artistic sample of items made by best bronze casters of Bilsk Sie of Ancient Settlement... more
Geoarchaeological analysis of settlement stratigraphy is key to understanding continuity and change in economic, social and cultural spaces within complex (proto-)urban sites. Here, preliminary micromorphological and micro-refuse data... more
Кулатова І. М., Супруненко О. Б. Більське городище в науковій і пам’яткоохоронній діяльності Полтавського Центру охорони та досліджень пам’яток археології. Археологія і давня історія України. Київ: Ін-т археол. НАН України, 2015. Вип. 2... more
Феномен Більського городища – 2014: До 70-річчя відділу археології раннього залізного віку Інституту археології НАН України та 80-річчя від дня народження видатного українського археолога професора Є. В. Черненка (1934 – 2007): зб.... more
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Старожитності Лівобережного Подніпров’я: зб. наук. пр. і мат-лів Х наук.-практ. семінару «Охорона та дослідження пам’яток археології» (м. Комсомольськ, 14–16 серпня 2010 р.) / Центр пам’яткозн. НАН України і Україн. Тов-ва охорони... more
The Bilsk archaeological expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine explored a part of a rampart of the Great Bilsk hill-fort on the territory of the settlement in the Tsaryna Mohyla tract in... more
Article de journal sur nos recherches sur les boulets de catapulte en basalte en Une de la Provence, le 11 mars 2025
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