Trelleborg is a collective name for six Viking ring castles, located in Denmark and the southern part of modern Sweden. Five of them have been dated to the reign of the Harold Bluetooth of Denmark (d. 986). The fort in Borgeby has been dated to the vicinity of 1000 AD, so it is possible that it too, was built by the same king.
The castles (or forts) are named after the first discovered castle, Trelleborg near Slagelse, excavated 1936-1941). The so-called Trelleborge are described as ring castles because of the strictly geometrical shape, in contrast to ring castles with the castle work encircled by a rampart that is not necessarily circular.
[edit]
Ring castles
Aggersborg near Limfjorden, Denmark.
Borgeby north of Lund at Lödde Å in Skåne, modern Sweden.
Fyrkat near Hobro, Denmark.
Nonnebakken in Odense, Denmark.
Trelleborg near Slagelse, Denmark.
Trelleborg in Trelleborg, Skåne, modern Sweden.
Traditionally, the name Trelleborg has been explained as a fort built by slaves (the Danish word for slave being træl), but the word trel (pl trelle) in a more plausible explanation. This relates to the wooden staves covering both sides of the protective circular walls.
[edit]
Comparisons of the different ring castles
Name Inner diameter Rampart width Number of houses Length of houses
Aggersborg 240 m 11 m 48 32.0 m
Borgeby 150 m 15 m
Fyrkat 120 m 13 m 16 28.5 m
Nonnebakken in Odense 120 m
Trelleborg near Slagelse 136 m 19 m 16 29.4 m
Trelleborg in Trelleborg 125 m
The ring castles and the contemporary bridge over Ravning Enge/Vejle Å (Vejle river) — together with minor bridges erected on Zealand (Bakkendrop bridge between Gørlev Tissø and Risby bridge by Præstø) and Lolland (over Flintinge river) — differ clearly from others from the Viking Age. Unlike other ring castles from the period the ring castles which follow the Trelleborg model are constructed after a strictly geometrical plan and measured with the Roman foot. The pointed bottoms of the moats are other elements borrowed from the Romans.
In spite of searches no real parallels have been found in the rest of Europe. On the coasts of the Netherlands and Belgium there are ring castles with certain points of resemblance and on the island Walcheren there are the remnants of a castle with gateways in the four points of the compass, combined with streets. Trelleborg (Zealand) and Fyrkat are dendrochronologically dated to 980 and the remainder have been carbon-14 dated to about the same time. Around 974 the Danish Viking king Harald Bluetooth lost the Danevirke and parts of Southern Jutland to the Germans. The whole complex of castles, bridges and roads which were built around 980 as a small part of an extensive defence work, are presumed to be Harald’s work.
Another theory is that the ring castles were boot camps for the troops used by Sweyn Forkbeard in his attack on England. Sweyn and his men sacked London in 1013.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_ring_castles
The term hill fort is commonly used by archaeologists to describe fortified enclosures located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. This fortification consists of one or more circular or sub-circular earth or stone ramparts, often with external ditches, following the contours of the hill.
Beyond this definition the variation in types and periods is wide. Some were also settlements whilst others appear only to have been occupied seasonally or in times of strife. Further, many hill forts, after careful archaeological excavation, have been discovered to have been used not for military purposes, but to pen in cattle, horses, or other domesticated animals.
Hill forts are especially common across Europe. In Central Europe, hill-forts start with the late Neolithic, but are especially common in the Bronze Age Urnfield culture and in the Hallstatt culture of the early Iron Age, and were being built until the Roman conquest in many areas. Julius Caesar described the large late Iron Age hill forts he encountered during his campaigns as oppida. By this time the larger ones had become more like cities than fortresses and many were assimilated as Roman towns.
Contents [hide]
1 Scandinavia
2 Britain and Ireland
3 France
4 New Zealand
5 India
6 Examples
7 External link
[edit]
Scandinavia
In Scandinavia, hill forts are fortifications from the Iron Age which may have had several functions. They are usually located on the crests of hills and mountains making use of precipices and marshes which worked as natural defenses. The crests' more accessible parts were defended with walls of stone and outer walls in the slopes beneath are common. Round and closed, so called, ring forts are common even on flat ground. The walls often have remaining parts of stone, which were probably the support of pales. They often have well delineated gates which were probably of wood. Hill forts with strong walls are often located beside old trading routes and have an offensive character, whereas others are reclusive and were weakly fortified, probably only for hiding during raids.
Many forts, located centrally in densely populated areas, were permanently settled strongholds and can show traces of settlements both inside and outside. Older place names containing the element sten/stein were usually hill forts.
In Sweden, there are 1100 known hill forts with a strong concentration on the northern west coast and in eastern Svealand. Only in Södermanland, there are 300, in Uppland 150, Östergötland 130 and Bohuslän and Gotland 90-100 each.
In Gotland, ring forts can be from the Pre-Roman Iron Age, but findings from the period 200 AD- 600 AD dominate. Many were still in use during the Middle Ages. For a unique fort, see Tingstäde Träsk.
[edit]
Britain and Ireland
Hill forts in Britain are known from the Bronze Age, but were a most prominent feature of the Iron Age. They were apparently used for habitation or as fortified encampments during the middle to late Iron Age, before the Roman Conquest, and then again following the end of Roman Britain, for a period of several decades into the Anglo-Saxon period. There is however, strong debate among modern archaeologists about their exact nature & use. In Britain the great age of hill fort construction was between 200 BC and the Roman conquest in AD 43. Where Roman influence was less strong (for example, in uninvaded Ireland and unsubdued northern Scotland) hill forts were still built and used for several more centuries. Some hill forts were reoccupied by the Anglo-Saxons prior to and during the Viking invasions.
[edit]
France
Well known French hillforts include Bibracte (Mont Beuvray) and Mont St. Odile (Mur Païen). The Gaulish hero Vercingetorix was famously besieged by Julius Caesar in the hill fort of Alesia.
[edit]
New Zealand
The Māori people built hill forts, mostly in the country's North Island, during the Classic period (AD 1350-1800). Known as pa, the fortresses were sometimes sited atop extinct volcanoes and consisted of a settlement, sometimes even with cultivation plots, surrounded by ditches and banks. Wooden palisade fences ran atop the banks along with raised fighting platforms. During the Māori Wars, the design was gradually modified, with more below ground entrenchments, thick earthern ramparts and camouflage, to successfully resist British artillery, for example at Gate Pa in 1864.
[edit]
India
India has a large number of hill forts, especially in the state of Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Maratha rulers like Chatrapati Shivaji formed a very complex and robust defense mechanism using hill forts against raids from Mughul rulers. The Maratha king Chatrapati Shivaji is credited to building and maintaining numerous hill forts in western Maharashtra. Hill forts like Lohgad, Raigad, Rajgad, Torna, Panhala, Sinhagad are examples of architectural wonders.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_forts
The castles (or forts) are named after the first discovered castle, Trelleborg near Slagelse, excavated 1936-1941). The so-called Trelleborge are described as ring castles because of the strictly geometrical shape, in contrast to ring castles with the castle work encircled by a rampart that is not necessarily circular.
[edit]
Ring castles
Aggersborg near Limfjorden, Denmark.
Borgeby north of Lund at Lödde Å in Skåne, modern Sweden.
Fyrkat near Hobro, Denmark.
Nonnebakken in Odense, Denmark.
Trelleborg near Slagelse, Denmark.
Trelleborg in Trelleborg, Skåne, modern Sweden.
Traditionally, the name Trelleborg has been explained as a fort built by slaves (the Danish word for slave being træl), but the word trel (pl trelle) in a more plausible explanation. This relates to the wooden staves covering both sides of the protective circular walls.
[edit]
Comparisons of the different ring castles
Name Inner diameter Rampart width Number of houses Length of houses
Aggersborg 240 m 11 m 48 32.0 m
Borgeby 150 m 15 m
Fyrkat 120 m 13 m 16 28.5 m
Nonnebakken in Odense 120 m
Trelleborg near Slagelse 136 m 19 m 16 29.4 m
Trelleborg in Trelleborg 125 m
The ring castles and the contemporary bridge over Ravning Enge/Vejle Å (Vejle river) — together with minor bridges erected on Zealand (Bakkendrop bridge between Gørlev Tissø and Risby bridge by Præstø) and Lolland (over Flintinge river) — differ clearly from others from the Viking Age. Unlike other ring castles from the period the ring castles which follow the Trelleborg model are constructed after a strictly geometrical plan and measured with the Roman foot. The pointed bottoms of the moats are other elements borrowed from the Romans.
In spite of searches no real parallels have been found in the rest of Europe. On the coasts of the Netherlands and Belgium there are ring castles with certain points of resemblance and on the island Walcheren there are the remnants of a castle with gateways in the four points of the compass, combined with streets. Trelleborg (Zealand) and Fyrkat are dendrochronologically dated to 980 and the remainder have been carbon-14 dated to about the same time. Around 974 the Danish Viking king Harald Bluetooth lost the Danevirke and parts of Southern Jutland to the Germans. The whole complex of castles, bridges and roads which were built around 980 as a small part of an extensive defence work, are presumed to be Harald’s work.
Another theory is that the ring castles were boot camps for the troops used by Sweyn Forkbeard in his attack on England. Sweyn and his men sacked London in 1013.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_ring_castles
The term hill fort is commonly used by archaeologists to describe fortified enclosures located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. This fortification consists of one or more circular or sub-circular earth or stone ramparts, often with external ditches, following the contours of the hill.
Beyond this definition the variation in types and periods is wide. Some were also settlements whilst others appear only to have been occupied seasonally or in times of strife. Further, many hill forts, after careful archaeological excavation, have been discovered to have been used not for military purposes, but to pen in cattle, horses, or other domesticated animals.
Hill forts are especially common across Europe. In Central Europe, hill-forts start with the late Neolithic, but are especially common in the Bronze Age Urnfield culture and in the Hallstatt culture of the early Iron Age, and were being built until the Roman conquest in many areas. Julius Caesar described the large late Iron Age hill forts he encountered during his campaigns as oppida. By this time the larger ones had become more like cities than fortresses and many were assimilated as Roman towns.
Contents [hide]
1 Scandinavia
2 Britain and Ireland
3 France
4 New Zealand
5 India
6 Examples
7 External link
[edit]
Scandinavia
In Scandinavia, hill forts are fortifications from the Iron Age which may have had several functions. They are usually located on the crests of hills and mountains making use of precipices and marshes which worked as natural defenses. The crests' more accessible parts were defended with walls of stone and outer walls in the slopes beneath are common. Round and closed, so called, ring forts are common even on flat ground. The walls often have remaining parts of stone, which were probably the support of pales. They often have well delineated gates which were probably of wood. Hill forts with strong walls are often located beside old trading routes and have an offensive character, whereas others are reclusive and were weakly fortified, probably only for hiding during raids.
Many forts, located centrally in densely populated areas, were permanently settled strongholds and can show traces of settlements both inside and outside. Older place names containing the element sten/stein were usually hill forts.
In Sweden, there are 1100 known hill forts with a strong concentration on the northern west coast and in eastern Svealand. Only in Södermanland, there are 300, in Uppland 150, Östergötland 130 and Bohuslän and Gotland 90-100 each.
In Gotland, ring forts can be from the Pre-Roman Iron Age, but findings from the period 200 AD- 600 AD dominate. Many were still in use during the Middle Ages. For a unique fort, see Tingstäde Träsk.
[edit]
Britain and Ireland
Hill forts in Britain are known from the Bronze Age, but were a most prominent feature of the Iron Age. They were apparently used for habitation or as fortified encampments during the middle to late Iron Age, before the Roman Conquest, and then again following the end of Roman Britain, for a period of several decades into the Anglo-Saxon period. There is however, strong debate among modern archaeologists about their exact nature & use. In Britain the great age of hill fort construction was between 200 BC and the Roman conquest in AD 43. Where Roman influence was less strong (for example, in uninvaded Ireland and unsubdued northern Scotland) hill forts were still built and used for several more centuries. Some hill forts were reoccupied by the Anglo-Saxons prior to and during the Viking invasions.
[edit]
France
Well known French hillforts include Bibracte (Mont Beuvray) and Mont St. Odile (Mur Païen). The Gaulish hero Vercingetorix was famously besieged by Julius Caesar in the hill fort of Alesia.
[edit]
New Zealand
The Māori people built hill forts, mostly in the country's North Island, during the Classic period (AD 1350-1800). Known as pa, the fortresses were sometimes sited atop extinct volcanoes and consisted of a settlement, sometimes even with cultivation plots, surrounded by ditches and banks. Wooden palisade fences ran atop the banks along with raised fighting platforms. During the Māori Wars, the design was gradually modified, with more below ground entrenchments, thick earthern ramparts and camouflage, to successfully resist British artillery, for example at Gate Pa in 1864.
[edit]
India
India has a large number of hill forts, especially in the state of Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Maratha rulers like Chatrapati Shivaji formed a very complex and robust defense mechanism using hill forts against raids from Mughul rulers. The Maratha king Chatrapati Shivaji is credited to building and maintaining numerous hill forts in western Maharashtra. Hill forts like Lohgad, Raigad, Rajgad, Torna, Panhala, Sinhagad are examples of architectural wonders.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_forts