A ''Pfostenschlitzmauer'' (German for "post-slot wall") is the name for
defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
s protecting
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...
hill fort
A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
s and ''
oppida'' in Central Europe, especially in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
and the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. They are characterized by vertical wooden posts set into the front stone facing. The
rampart
Rampart may refer to:
* Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement
Rampart may also refer to:
* "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from " The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...
is constructed from a timber lattice filled with earth or rubble. The transverse cross-beams may also protrude through the stone facing, as with the ''
murus gallicus
''Murus gallicus'' or Gallic wall is a method of construction of defensive walls used to protect Iron Age hillforts and '' oppida'' of the La Tene period in Western Europe.
Basic features
The distinctive features are:
* earth or rubbl ...
'' used in
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
and western Germany. It is sometimes referred to in English as a timber-framed wall.
The construction method is also known as "Kelheim-style", named after the extensive ramparts at the oppidum of
Kelheim
Kelheim () is a town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the district Kelheim and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Altmühl and Danube. Kelheim has a population of around 16,750 (2020).
History
Kelheim is ...
.
At the
oppidum of Manching, an earlier ''murus gallicus'' rampart was rebuilt in ''Pfostenschlitzmauer'' style.
File:2018 Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Keltischer Wehrmauer.jpg, Model of a ''Pfostenschlitzmauer'' wall of the "Altkönig-Preist" type
File:Murus Gallicus 2.jpg, Reverse view
File:Keltische Steinmauer auf dem Kordigast.jpg, ''Pfostenschlitzmauer''-type fortification wall
See also
* ''
Murus Dacicus''
* ''
Murus Gallicus
''Murus gallicus'' or Gallic wall is a method of construction of defensive walls used to protect Iron Age hillforts and '' oppida'' of the La Tene period in Western Europe.
Basic features
The distinctive features are:
* earth or rubbl ...
''
*
Urnfield culture
The Urnfield culture ( 1300 BC – 750 BC) was a late Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and p ...
*
Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European culture of Late Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallstatt C, Hallstatt D) from the 8th to 6th centuries ...
References
* ''The Ancient Celts'',
Barry Cunliffe
Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe, (born 10 December 1939), known as Barry Cunliffe, is a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been an Emeri ...
(1997)
* ''Celtic Fortifications'', Ian Ralston (2006)
* ''Manching: Die Keltenstadt'', Susanne Sievers (2003),
{{Authority control
Fortification (architectural elements)
Hill forts
Oppida
Iron Age Europe
German words and phrases