Vitrified forts — How and why?

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BrigantesNation B
BrigantesNation May 14, 2002 15:27:38
Replying to IronMan

MMM. There's a couple of spanners in the works:

1. Wincobank, which I think is a vitrified fort the interior area is about average for a hillfort and would cook the chaps inside if the walls were at 1100 degrees.

2. All hill forts have an outer ditch would be a perfect place to put fires yet most hillforts have no signs of this being done. Don't forget most of the defences relied on wood for their structure, there are many cases where wooden parts were covered with leather to protect against fire.

3. In the case of Almondbury, (which I think is a dodgy excavation conclusion) the fort was deserted after vitrification.

W Wotan
Wotan May 14, 2002 15:46:39
Replying to BrigantesNation

Buns aside - the vitrefied walls would effectively deflect any pointed projectile such as 4W's javelins, fire-arrows etc as well as grapples (dont know enough about IA tech , so if a grappling hook is an anachronism - indulge me!).

As far as cooking up the builders, that would suggest that pre-attack vitrification may have been a process used to render the ramparts unscalable.

Is there any evidence of any combustible materials being discovered at the sites?