Fortresses

Το Κάστρο Κιμώλου (Χωριό), αποτελεί έναν από τους σπουδαιότερους, αλλά και πιο παραμελημένους οχυρωμένους οικισμούς των Κυκλάδων. Η παρούσα εργασία περιλαμβάνει πληροφορίες για την ίδρυση και τη μορφή του Κάστρου. Στην εργασία αυτή γίνεται επίσης μια προσπάθεια σύγκρισης του Κάστρου Κιμώλου με άλλες οχυρώσεις, καθώς και με διάφορα άλλα αρχιτεκτονικά σύνολα. Επιπλέον, αναφέρονται  οι επεμβάσεις και οι προσπάθειες ανάδειξης που έχουν γίνει μέχρι στιγμής στο μνημείο, αναδεικνύονται οι κύριες αξίες του και γίνεται μια πρόταση  ανάδειξης και διαχείρισης του. Η πρόταση περιλαμβάνει την αποκατάσταση μιας οικίας του Κάστρου, καθώς και τη δημιουργία διαδρομών. Αναλύονται θέματα, όπως αυτό του προϋπολογισμού του προτεινόμενου αρχαιολογικού έργου, καθώς και του χρόνου που απαιτείται για να έρθει εις πέρας. Αναφέρονται οι παράγοντες που θα ασχοληθούν με αυτό, οι πιθανοί κίνδυνοι που ίσως προκύψουν  κατά τη διεξαγωγή του και οι τρόποι αντιμετώπισής τους.

INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH: Egypto-Levantine relations have varied from the Neolithic through Persian periods, ranging from overland and maritime commerce, diplomatic missions, emigrants, imperial expansion, and alliances, while at other times Asiatics have traded, raided, pastured their flocks, infiltrated, taken refuge in, served as mercenaries, and sometimes controlled parts of Egypt.  Although fluctuations occur in the intensity of contact, in general interactions have increased over time, with local adoptions and emulations of different aspects of each culture: language, literature, religion, art, and artifacts.

Preserving historic building is crucial to retain national heritage and history. It is not just that, preservation of historic building will lead to social, economic, and environmental benefits. It will increase the property value as well as its surroundings. It also gives non-priced benefits that come from the enjoyment and satisfaction of people when they pass by restored building (Garrod et al, 1996). This report will discuss preservation of old buildings in Riyadh and will try to evaluate the work that has been done to preserve its old buildings.

This is an anthology on the current use in Denmark of historical maps within a large number of subject areas and topics. Each of the articles focus on one such area.

The book is published electronically within the series of Geoforum Perspektiv as vol. 38 in open access online.

Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc
Historia de una forta leza
La Ergástula, Madrid, 2014
270 páginas; 25 euros

Ediciones La Ergástula publica la primera
traducción al castellano del 1 ibro
Histoired'unefortresse, aparecido originalmente
en París en 1874, y que es,
en rigor, una original novela histórica
con fines didácticos. En ella, Violletle-
Duc aprovecha su erudición para
componer un magistral viaje a lo largo
de la imaginaria historia de una también
imaginaria población fortificada

Engravings Depicting the Polotsk Campaign in 1579 as a Homogeneous Cartographic Composition Th e paper presents seven plans of fortresses (Polotsk, Sokil, Kazyany, Krasne, Turovla, Susza and Sitno) and a map of the principality of Polotsk by Stanisław Pachołowiecki. Th e analysis indicates that plans of fortifi cations and hydrogeologic conditions were integrated into a previously existing operational map of the principality of Polotsk. Th erefore, eight printed maps and plans constitute a joint work that was uniformly fi nished by one author (Stanisław Pachołowiecki or Giovanni Battista Cavalieri). Th e map of the principality of Polotsk features Russian fortifi ca-tions in the form of two-dimensional projections. Th e strongholds were depicted in a reliable manner, both in terms of shape and the number of towers. Such a representation of settlement symbols was an innovative solution in Renaissance carto g-raphy. Not until the 17 th century were such means known and they did not appear on a broader scale until the 1730s.

Коллективная монография: Албазинский острог: История, археология, антропология народов Приамурья / отв. ред. А.П. Забияко, А.Н. Черкасов., 2019. Albazin fortress: History, archeology, anthropology of the peoples of the Amur region. Chapter 2.7.

The Bastion Fortress in Olomouc and the Phenomenon of Fortification Bricks

This contribution discusses fortification bricks found in Olomouc from a less‑usual angle. It points out their importance as the building material of the local bastion fortress and, above all, stresses their role of a cultural phenomenon.

On one of the highest rocky ledges above the Reka River, just a few kilometers from Famlje Village and near
Škocjan Caves, Školj Castle is today one of the less known castles in Slovenia. For more than a century the castle is
abandoned. Until the 19th century it was among the most interesting castles in Carniola because of its picturesque
location and
architectural design. In this article we present the results of the last architectural history research, based
on study of written archive sources, literature, image sources and castle ruins. The results show the castle’s importance,
that it could be
possible
and would be necessary
to preserve
and to restore
his remains.

Keywords: Školj, Neukhoffell, Neukofell, Noviscoglio, castle, Rauber, Ravbar, Neuhaus, Rossetti,
Dekleva, Johann Weichard Valvasor, Louis François Cassas, Park Škocjanske jame,
Architectural conservation, architectural history

Célébré pendant des générations d’Égyptiens, vénéré à l’égal d’un dieu après sa mort, Sésostris III fut considéré par ses successeurs comme le modèle même du souverain égyptien. Ce très grand homme d’État perçut la nécessité de contrôler les régions frontalières du pays et construisit en Nubie un réseau de forteresses dont l’architecture préfigura celle de nos châteaux forts.
Pierre Tallet dresse le portrait d’une époque phare de la civilisation égyptienne au XIXe siècle avant J.-C., en s’appuyant sur les dernières découvertes archéologiques.
Il nous permet ainsi de cerner la personnalité de Sésostris III à travers ses réalisations et ses volontés politiques. Il explore les complexes funéraires royaux, nous dévoile le message que le souverain voulut inscrire dans l’austérité des multiples effigies de sa personne qu’il plaça tout au long de la Vallée du Nil. Tous les aspects de la vie quotidienne en Égypte s’animent sous sa plume à travers les différentes couches de la société.

"Fanno il deserto e lo chiamano pace." Così lo storico Tacito descrive i legionari di Roma, espressione rapace di uno Stato in espansione. In effetti, nell'immaginario collettivo, l'esercito romano rappresenta una compatta, inarrestabile macchina da guerra. Un esempio ineguagliabile di efficienza e disciplina. E lo fu davvero, anche se non fu solo questo. Seguendone l'evoluzione è possibile ripercorrere lo sviluppo dell'intera società romana. Proprio ciò che in questo volume fa Federica Guidi, puntando la lente d'ingrandimento sulle forze armate dell'Urbe, che a prima vista appaiono una realtà monolitica. Partendo dall'epoca regia per arrivare alla tarda età imperiale, l'autrice descrive con uno stile sapientemente vivace l'articolazione delle legioni, le tecniche di guerra, ma anche gli aspetti più quotidiani della vita dei soldati: dalla costruzione delle macchine belliche alle pratiche mediche di soccorso, dall'addestramento alla organizzazione dei castra. Per scoprire che le legioni furono lo specchio della grandezza di Roma e della sua straordinaria capacità di includere e integrare l'altro, il diverso.

The Drachenfels (Dragon's Rock) in the Siebengebirge uplands between Königswinter and Bad Honnef in Germany. The hill is located in the North Rhine-Westphalia area.
History
The ruined castle Burg Drachenfels, on the summit of the hill, was built between 1138 and 1167 by Archbishop Arnold I of Cologne and bears the same name. It was originally intended for the protection of the Cologne region from any assault from the south. Originally it consisted of a bergfried with court, chapel and living quarters for servants. The castle was slighted in 1634, during the Thirty Years' War, by the Protestant Swedes and never rebuilt. As a strategic asset it had outlived its usefulness.
The rock, like the rest of the Siebengebirge, has been the site of a trachyte quarry since Roman times, which, amongst others, delivered the building material for the Cologne Cathedral. Of all the hills in the Siebengebirge, it is closest to the river Rhine, which facilitates easy transport by barges, thus making it an excellent place for a quarry. Quarrying ended in 1836, when the Prussian government bought the quarry. In 1922 the first protection measures were put in place and in 1956 the site was declared a national park.
Legends
Several legends surround the Drachenfels, most famously that Siegfried – the hero of the Nibelungenlied – killed the dragon Fafnir, who lived in a cave in the hill, then bathed in its blood to become invulnerable. Hence, the hill is named the "Dragon's Rock", Drachenfels.
About a third of the way up is the Nibelungenhalle, built in 1913, a gallery of paintings by the symbolist painter Hermann Hendrich depicting scenes from Richard Wagner's operas.
Another legend tells of prisoners being sacrificed to a dragon. One of these was a Christian virgin, who, in her fear, held up a little cross. In fear of this holy symbol, the dragon jumped into the Rhine and was never heard from again.
A third, less pious, story has it the dragon one day attacked a boat laden with gunpowder, causing an explosion which destroyed the ship and killed the dragon.
Siegfried is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon and was later murdered. It is possible he was inspired by one or more figures from the Frankish Merovingian dynasty, with Sigebert I being the most popular contender. Older scholarship sometimes connected him with Arminius, victor of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.
Sigurd's story is first attested on a series of carvings, including runestones from Sweden and stone crosses from the British Isles, dating from the eleventh century.
In both the Norse and continental Germanic tradition, Sigurd is portrayed as dying as the result of a quarrel between his wife (Gudrun/Kriemhild) and another woman, Brunhild, whom he has tricked into marrying the Burgundian king Gunnar/Gunther. His slaying of a dragon and possession of the hoard of the Nibelungen is also common to both traditions. In other respects, however, the two traditions appear to diverge. The most important works to feature Sigurd are the Nibelungenlied, the Völsunga saga, and the Poetic Edda. He also appears in numerous other works from both Germany and Scandinavia, including a series of medieval and early modern Scandinavian ballads.

The early history of the Gherla Fortress, located on the right bank of the Someșul Mic River, next to the main road leading to Cluj-Napoca, is closely intertwined with the fortress of Bálványos, which is about 15 km away as the crow flies. The early names of the new fortification – Bálványosújvár, Újvár (New Fortress of Bálványos, New Fortress) – served to distinguish it from this medieval fortress situated on a hill, relatively far from the main road. Its builder, Brother George Martinuzzi (died 1551) is thought to have abandoned the hill fortress for strategic reasons as it became unsuitable for military operations and decided to build a new, modern fortress instead. Thus, according to modern military expectations Szamosújvár, the Gherla fort was built from around 1539 on a flat area on an Italian style bastion-system trace in the vicinity of the former village of Gherlahida. The newly built fortress, without any architectural antecedents, had to prevent the enemy (primarily Habsburg) troops from advancing towards Cluj in the Someș Valley, but at the same time it had to serve as a representative and safe residence first for Brother George, later for the princes of Transylvania until about 1668.

Obiekty architektury obronnej należą do najbardziej trwałych, materialnych świadectw działań wojennych. Ich powstanie z kolei jest emanacją obowiązujących w chwili podjęcia decyzji o budowie założeń doktryny wojennej państw. Z uwagi na fakt, iż są to z reguły obiekty charakteryzujące się długowiecznością, a ich powstanie wiązało się ze znacznymi wydatkami finansowymi, stąd też fortyfikacje są inwestycjami stosunkowo dobrze przemyślanymi, obliczonymi za zaspokojenie potrzeb obronnych państwa w perspektywie wielu dziesięcioleci. Co zdecydowało więc o powstaniu w początkach XX wieku kompleksu fortyfikacji w pasie Wielkich Jezior Mazurskich?! Rok 1871 jest optymalnym punktem wyjścia do rozważań nad związkiem wielkiej polityki międzynarodowej z planowaniem wojennym, w tym także miejscem Prus Wschodnich w tych planach. Zjednoczenie Niemiec stanowiło punkt zwrotny w relacjach pomiędzy pięcioma europejskimi mocarstwami -Francją, Wielką Brytanią, Prusami, Austro-Węgrami i Rosją -i kładło kres dotychczasowemu ładowi opartemu na zasadzie równowagi sił. W sercu Europy powstał nowy twór państwowy, który swoim potencjałem demograficznym, ekonomicznym i militarnym przewyższał każde państwo europejskie. Niemcy stawały się w nowej rzeczywistości czymś w rodzaju europejskiego supermocarstwa, a jego dominację na kontynencie europejskim ułatwiała klęska Francji w wojnie 1870-1871 roku, osłabienie Austro--Węgier po wojnie 1866 roku oraz tradycyjne już, połowiczne zainteresowanie kwestiami europejskimi ze strony Wielkiej Brytanii. Taki stan rzeczy budził obawy nie tylko wśród historycznych rywali Niemiec jak Francja, ale i u sojuszników, w tym Rosji.

This paper presents some of the information obtained during the archaeological surveys carried out in 2019 in the stately fortress known as Torre de Isso, located in the municipality of Hellín (Albacete). These fieldworks have attempted to answer some questions related to the historical interpretation of the preserved monumental remains, specifically two large towers and some walls from the second half of the thirteenth or fourteenth century. The initial study and graphical documentation were carried out to obtain the data needed to draft a conservation project in line with current scientific criteria.Extending the investigation to the whole neighborhood of houses that surrounds the towers resulted in the discovery of a quadrangular fortress of 44 x 42 m, which incorporates the towers and in which different construction phases have been identified, certainly prior to and subsequent to the Christian conquest. The remains found were reused in the load-bearing walls of some of the hous...

"Contibutions to the Construction History of the Citadel of Braşov

The present contribution aims to enrich our knowledge regarding the construction history of the Citadel of Braşov by exploiting new historical evidence on the subject. Thus the most important sources on which the paper relies are the 16–17th century town accounts of Braşov as well as some records and ground plans preserved in the Austrian State Archives.
The sources reveal that during Giovanni Battista Castaldo’s lieutenancy in Transylvania (1551–1553) significant construction proceeded on the Citadel of Brassó, where the earlier, horseshoe-shaped tower erected in 1524 was surrounded by an earthen defensive work (1552), and subsequently – from 1553 on – three new, small-sized towers were built and joined to the central one. In the 17th century the fortress was encircled by an almost regular quadrangular enceinte, defended on its corners by bastions lacking orillons. The town accounts reveal that its building went on between 1630 and 1631. Although our sources do not say so specifically, it is very likely that the constructions of the 16th and 17th were planned by Italian architects employed by the sovereign. Alessandro da Urbino, Castaldo’s most active Italian architect in Transylvania between 1551–1552, stopped in the town on several occasions on his way to the Moldavian passes, and received significant presents from the magistrate of Braşov, presumably in recognition of his services brought to the city. Also it is conceivable that Ioannes Landus, the Siennese architect of the princess Katalin Brandemburgi, had a certain contribution in planning and maybe laying the construction of the outer enceinte in the 17th century.
The analysis of the so far unknown survey of the 19th century venetian-style cistern built in the citadel enlightens interesting aspects of the further development of the monument.
"

В работе исследуются бойницы в башнях шести памятников русского военного зодчества конца XV – первой трети XVI в.: Новгородского, Московского, Нижегородского, Тульского, Коломенского и Зарайского кремлей. Автор предлагает собственную классификацию огневых позиций и сравнивает бойницы русских кремлей с итальянскими. Отмечается факт редкого применения в России итальянских типов огневых позиций и форм бойниц, показаны отличительные черты устройства русских бойниц.

Tower loopholes in the late 15th – first third of the 16th century Russian kremlins “in Italian style”: their classification and comparison with loopholes in Italian defensive architecture
Summary
Tower loopholes in six Russian military architecture monuments of the late 15th – first third of the 16th century are analyzed in the work: Novgorod the Great, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Tula, Kolomna and Zaraysk kremlins. The author offers his classification of firing positions and compares Russian loopholes with Italian ones. Attention is drawn to the fact that firing positions and shapes of loopholes in Italian type were rarely met with in Russia. Distinctive features of Russian loopholes are reviewed.

Heritage tourism in Oman is one of the main pillars of tourism in all of the tourism strategies that have been set in the last 10 years by the government of Oman. As the forts in Oman date back hundreds of years, the importance of heritage (fort) tourism has drawn the interest of scholars in the tourism sector in understanding visitors’ motivation. This study is going to investigate visitor's motivations when visiting Omani forts. It is also going to assess the quality of fort management by using visitor's feedback and the primarily utilising push and pull factors. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches have been chosen to collect primary data from three very famous forts in Oman (Bahla Fort, Nizwa Fort and Jabreen Castle). The study recommends increasing the support from the Ministry of Tourism together with the Ministry of Heritage and Culture to present the forts in a professional manner. Also, the development of forts should be very carefully managed and performed in a manner that does not affect the spirituality of these forts.

Keywords: Visitor, Motivation, Push, pull, Oman, Fort, Castle, Bahla, Nizwa, Jabreen

7 I libri dell'entrata e dell'uscita della repubblica di Siena detti del Camarlingo e dei quattro provveditori della Biccherna. Libro terzo (anno 1230), Siena 1915 (d'ora in avanti Biccherna III), pp. 185, 200, 212. 8 Quattro interi carichi di farina furono destinati solo per Monteriggioni e uno a Quercegrossa. Rispettivamente: op. cit., pp. 15, 226, 135, 261, 346; I libri dell'entrata e dell'uscita della repubblica di Siena detti del Camarlingo e dei quattro provveditori della Biccherna. Libro quarto (anno 1231), Siena 1926 (d'ora in avanti Biccherna IV), p. 135. 9 A Quercegrossa arrivò una carico di farina che doveva essere distribuito anche a Selvole, mentre un altro arrivò a Monteriggioni ma parte era destinata a Cerreto: Biccherna III, pp. 184, 266, 338-341. A Quercegrossa e Cerreto furono nominati dei guardiani alle farine, anche con il compito di far rispettare le divisioni del carico: Biccherna IV, p. 136. 10 93 del 1262 15 .

This paper examines what it is possible to say about who commanded the non-Italian, auxiliary troops which frequently served in the armies of the Roman Republic. The discussion is restricted to land forces, looking firstly at the evidence for Romans in command of auxilia – mostly found at the upper levels of command – and secondly at the evidence for non-Romans commanding auxilia – mostly found at the level of individual unit commanders. The problem of classification of auxilia (allies, auxiliaries, or mercenaries?) is briefly considered, with reference to their military autonomy. The final section explores the potential value of ‘native’ commanders and Roman recognition of this, through clientela and mechanisms of reward and civic incorporation. The paper concludes with brief speculation on developments in practice over the course of the Republic.

The study seeks to highlight the main characteristics of the organization of the military construction sites in 16th-century Transylvania related to the recruitment of labour force (military engineers and architects, skilled craftsmen and day workers). The author provides new data concerning the activity of the Italian architects: Domenico da Bologna, Alessandro da Urbino, Sigismondo and Felice da Pisa and Simone Genga. The second part of the study describes the process of the recruitment of craftsmen and unskilled labourers as well as the working conditions on the princely building sites mostly through the example of the fortress from Oradea. Finally the author tries to identify the factors that caused the fallback of the principality in terms of fortifications in the 16th century. Among these the lack of money, the outdated organization of the construction sites and the permanent lack of man-power in the rarely populated state of Transylvania were probably the most important.

Sieben Wochen lang hatten die deutschen und ungarischen Verteidiger im eingeschlossenen Budapest den Angriffen sowjetischer und rumänischer Verbände standgehalten. Doch schließlich wurden sie im westlichen Stadtteil Buda auf engem Raum zusammengedrängt und litten unter Verpflegungs-und Munitionsmangel. Bis zuletzt hatte sie vor allem die Hoffnung aufrechterhalten, sie würden durch deutsche Kräfte von außen befreit. Erst, als die Lage vollkommen aussichtslos war, wagten die Verteidiger einen Ausbruchsversuch - doch dieser endete in einem Desaster.

The fortresses of the Peloponnese played a significant role during the Greek Revolution. They were main defensive positions, shelters for those escaping violence, and places of negotiation between the Ottoman forces and the Greek revolutionaries. The Ottoman centre was able to follow the trajectories of the uprisings in the Morea through communications from the few fortresses that were still in the hands of Ottoman forces. As they retained a few fortresses in the region, the Ottomans continued to claim their rule until their complete evacuation was forced by French forces in 1828. Where were the Ottomans in the Peloponnese? Where was Ottoman defence against the Greek forces? Why were the Ottoman defences in some fortresses successful whilst in others they failed to confront Greek forces? Did the physical situation of the fortresses, geography of the region and weather play a role during the Greek uprisings? These are some of the questions I aim to answer throughout this paper. Largely based on Ottoman archival documents, this paper discusses the Ottoman perspective and the Greek revolts, highlighting the Ottoman considerations of the uprising. It focuses on the fortresses of Anabolu (Napflio), Tripoliçe (Tripoli) Gördes (Acrocorinth), Balya Badra (Patras), Anavarin (Navarino), Moton (Methoni) and Koron (Koroni), as they were the main areas in which conflicts between Ottoman and Greek forces were concentrated. It also sheds light on the conditions leading to the extermination or evacuation of the Muslim population from the region and traces their journey towards the Anatolian shores or the Ottoman capital.

Abstract: The paper describes the development of small heritage towns,
fortifications and their wealth as the real heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to the description of selected examples of fortifications, the paper presents the challenges of developing small cities as potentials. The current theme on the European level is the development of small towns, not necessarily as a tourist potentials, but as a network of settlements and an important element of the development of the region. Small towns play a significant role in providing social services to surrounding rural areas, and are a very important part of developmental stability and the progress of the wider environment. Cities with heritage contribute significantly to the development of local identity. In small towns, a significant part of the population of the region and the state lives, and therefore are very important.

"Fortifications in the Lusatian culture hill-forts constitute an excellent proof of the progress the people of that culture made in building. Building fortifications was a complicated and complex enterprise, requiring immense resources. It demanded good organisation of work and appropriate engineering skills on the part of its creators.

However, the long research conducted in hill-forts since the 19th century leaves much to be desired. The lack of uniform terminology, which would identify various elements and constructions recognized in the examined defensive walls, seems rather striking in this context. It influenced the state of documentation and carried out reconstructions (graphic) which, in many cases, are difficult to comprehend. The basic principles used in building seem sometimes to have been ignored when creating the reconstructions. In other cases “Lusatian” defensive constructions were given the largest possible size, vastly transgressing the level of technical skills displayed by the builders of that culture. Such reconstruction should be based primarily on the structures (layout of wooden beams, characteristic embankments) registered in the defensive wall, and ought to observe the building rules both applied currently and those applied by the Lusatian culture engineers. In the case of wooden constructions one can refer to analogies in housing. Nevertheless, moderation is also advocated here, since such buildings should be located in close proximity to the hill-fort and refer to similar chronology. Therefore, the methodology of research on Lusatian culture fortifications should still be improved, and the detailed work carried out in Biskupin should undoubtedly serve as a model here.

Using only natural resources (timber, stone, clay), “Lusatian” builders were able to erect solid defensive structures, really economical as far as the used material was concerned. Among such constructions there were ramparts, gateways and fortifications on the outskirts and along shoreline. In the context of the rampart structure, its foundation (which was not itself a defensive structure) stabilising the base in various natural conditions, served an important function. The fortification core in the Lusatian culture hill-forts was the proper rampart. Depending on the material used for its construction, it could have been a timber, stone or earthen rampart or a “combined” form.

Log walls of the palisade or stockade (shoring) type belong to forms of rather simple construction. For that reason such fortifications were regarded as having the lowest defensive value. It did not mean, however, that more elaborate forms of those wall were not built, the evidence of which can be found in the younger phase (IV) of the fortification in Łubowice (Chochorowski 1976, 71-72; 1977, 112-115). We have already encountered complex structures in the case of box or interlayer timber ramparts. Box ramparts are among the most numerous versions of fortifications encountered in the Lusatian culture hill-forts. Moreover, they belong to the definitely best examined mainly owing to intensive research conducted in Biskupin for many years (Piotrowski 1991). Rarely have we encountered samples of stone or earthen ramparts. Particularly the latter could not really constitute a sufficient defensive measure. We encounter very interesting forms of fortifications in the context of “combined forms”. They were structures in which a combination of various constructions (e.g. timber box) and building materials were used.
The key part at the initial stage of the proper rampart construction was selection of an appropriate form for its foundations. Depending on the environment in which the hill-fort functioned, it used to be a timber structure in marshy areas, while a kind of earthen pedestal was used in drier regions (Niesiołowska-Hoffmann 1963, 109). Similarly as in the case of the proper ramparts, considering the kind of construction material used, we can distinguish timber, stone or earthen foundations and the “combined forms”.

The part played by gateway complexes in the defensive system of the Lusatian culture hill-forts remains shrouded in mystery. Such a construction could have been a roofed-over watchtower, which offered an excellent vantage point of the hill-fort approach. It is, however, one of many reconstruction concepts which, on the basis of the preserved ground-floor sections of those buildings, can be neither confirmed nor ruled out. The situation is further aggravated by the poor state of recognition of gateway complexes, based solely on the excavations in Biskupin, Izdebno, Jankowo and Nieder-Neundorf. Nevertheless, considering significant communications functions, it should be assumed that that such a construction ought to have been found in each hill-fort, and its part in defensive activities seems highly likely.
The Lusatian culture hill-forts were located on naturally defensive sites. Therefore one can mention “natural defensive factors”, which conditioned the form and complexity of the fortification system. Let us consider the dependence of the selected construction materials on the natural environment in which the hill-fort functioned. Stone walls occurred in hilly areas where this material was plentiful, while huge amounts of timber were used in the lowlands.

One cannot evaluate the effectiveness of the Lusatian culture fortifications in their defensive function with absolute certainty. However, considering the conditions of running a military campaign in those times, such constructions, even if not of impressive size, could have provided effective protection against invaders. Their value was additionally enhanced by natural features of the area which complemented the defensive system of the hill-fort."