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Thankyou for the summary my computer gets very slow after a short while online. I just did a quick search on craig phadrig,near inverness(where the pictish king brude used to hangout) anyway one site said it was constructed using timber-laced granite then burnt causing extensive vitrification. I assume that means bits of wood between the rocks in the walls so i would imagine that would create a fairly big heat. So that is a possible how. The why?? apart from the emense strengh I'm not sure(although it does get very draughty up those hills, but it's a bit of a complex draught excluder!)
love carolinexx

The thing is, a lot mid to late Iron Age hill forts used timber lacing to give the wall flexibility against battering rams. Caesar mentions this in The Conquest of Gaul and say how the trick was in the length of the timber lacing, he found the longer ones almost impossible to penetrate. So A) You'd want the flexibility timber gives.
B) if this was a common technique, why aren't there vitrified forts elsewhere. (even in non rocky areas, during the building of the ditch, those Iron Age guys have been known to carry on into the rock to quarry out stone for the ramparts).
Also, in order to burn wood needs air, hill forts where extremely well built by expert stone masons with tight fitting seams, I think if a fire were to break out the worst you'd get inside the wall would be charcoal.

A related and interesting fact is the speed that a fort could be built. Caesar mentions the Gaulish Celts building a fort with six foot (I think) high earthern Rampart with ditch to a circuference of 15 roman miles overnight.

Stanwick, with its stone faced ramparts of six miles circumference and mammoth dimensioned wall (10-15m from botton of ditch to top of wall) was probably built in a year.

I'm an expert of Internet connections that don't work properly! have you tried a different service provider? I think Microsoft may be up to its tricks again with Win 98 and Netscape, so try Internet Explorer for your browser. Who is your Internet Service Provider? I work in the industry and may be able to advise (but don't expect me to be objective!).