Editing Fortification (section)

===Bronze Age Europe===
[[File:Borg in-Nadur ruins.jpeg|thumb|left|Remains of a fortified village, [[Borġ in-Nadur]], Malta. Borġ in-Nadur is a notable example of [[Bronze Age]] fortifications.]]

In [[Bronze Age]] [[Malta (island)|Malta]], some settlements also began to be fortified. The most notable surviving example is [[Borġ in-Nadur]], where a bastion built in around 1500 BC was found. Exceptions were few—notably, ancient [[Sparta]] and ancient [[Rome]] did not have walls for a long time, choosing to rely on their militaries for defense instead. Initially, these fortifications were simple constructions of wood and earth, which were later replaced by mixed constructions of stones piled on top of each other without [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]]. In [[ancient Greece]], large stone walls had been built in [[Mycenaean Greece]], such as the ancient site of [[Mycenae]] (famous for the huge stone blocks of its '[[cyclopean]]' walls). In [[Classical Greece|classical era Greece]], the city of [[Athens]] built two parallel stone walls, called the [[Long Walls]], that reached their fortified seaport at [[Piraeus]] a few miles away.

In [[Central Europe]], the [[Celts]] built large fortified settlements known as [[oppidum|oppida]], whose walls seem partially influenced by those built in the [[Mediterranean]]. The fortifications were continuously being expanded and improved. Around 600 BC, in [[Heuneburg]], Germany, forts were constructed with a limestone foundation supported by a [[mudbrick]] wall approximately 4 meters tall, probably topped by a roofed walkway, thus reaching a total height of 6 meters. The wall was clad with lime plaster, regularly renewed. Towers protruded outwards from it.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Focke|first1=Arne|title=Die Heuneburg an der oberen Donau: Die Siedlungsstrukturen|url=http://www.isentosamballerer.de/de/bibliothek/siedlungsstrukturen-heuneburg/befestigungen.html|website=isentosamballerer.de|date=2006|language=de}}{{dead link|date=August 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Erforschung und Geschichte der Heuneburg|url=http://www.heuneburg.de/heuneburg-kelten.htm|website=Celtic Museum Heuneburg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070624231023/http://www.heuneburg.de/heuneburg-kelten.htm|archive-date=24 June 2007|language=de}}</ref>
[[File:Bibracte Porte Rebout.jpg|thumb|Reconstructed walls of [[Bibracte]], a [[Gaulish]] ''[[oppidum]]'', showing the construction technique known as ''[[Murus Gallicus|murus gallicus]]''. ''Oppida'' were large fortified settlements used during the [[Iron Age]].]]

The [[Oppidum of Manching]] (German: Oppidum von Manching) was a large Celtic proto-urban or city-like settlement at modern-day Manching (near Ingolstadt), Bavaria (Germany). The settlement was founded in the 3rd century BC and existed until {{Circa|50–30 BC}}. It reached its largest extent during the late La Tène period (late 2nd century BC), when it had a size of 380 hectares. At that time, 5,000 to 10,000 people lived within its 7.2&nbsp;km long walls. The oppidum of [[Bibracte]] is another example of a Gaulish fortified settlement.