As Europe's population grew during prehistory, its communities shifted in size and complexity. In the Neolithic, around 5000 BCE, perhaps 2 to 5 million people lived across the continent, mostly in scattered farming settlements. By the Late Iron Age, the number had risen to 15 to 30 million. Outside the urbanized worlds of Greece and Italy, most settlements remained small, with only a few dozen inhabitants. Yet hillforts stood apart, often housing hundreds, sometimes up to 1,000 people. Later, with the rise of oppida, settlements reached as many as 10,000 inhabitants. From about 1100 BCE, hillforts began to appear across Europe. Built along the contours of hills, they combined earthworks, stone ramparts, ditches, and wooden stockades. Their elevated positions allowed defenders to spot approaching enemies. But they were more than strongholds; they served as tribal centers, places of trade and craft production, and settings for ritual gatherings. The fate of these fortifications varied. Some passed into the hands of conquering armies, while others were destroyed and abandoned. Solsbury Hill in southern Britain, for instance, was sacked and deserted during Belgic incursions in the 1st century BCE. Yet abandonment did not always mark the end. Under new threats, many forts were reoccupied and refortified, whether during the Roman, Saxon, or Viking invasions of Britain, or in conflicts such as the Dukes' Wars in Lithuania. In this way, hillforts remained part of Europe's landscape for centuries, shifting between thriving communities, battle sites, and ruins awaiting revival.

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Iron Age Hill Fort