Types of Earthwork
Earthworks of interest to archaeologists include hillforts, henges, mounds, platform mounds, effigy mounds, enclosures, long barrows, tumuli, ridge and furrow, mottes, round barrows and other tombs.
- Hillforts, a type of fort made out of mostly earth and other natural materials including sand, straw, and water were built as early as the late Stone Age and were built more frequently during the Bronze Age as a means of protection
- Henge earthworks are those that consist of a flat area of earth in a circular shape that are encircled by a ditch, or several circular ditches, with a bank on the outside of the ditch built with the earth from inside the ditch; they are believed to have been used as monuments for spiritual ritual ceremonies
- A mound is a substantial manmade pile of earth or rocks that was frequently created to mark burial sites
- Platform mounds are pyramid or rectangular-shaped mounds that are used to hold a building or temple on top.
- An effigy mound is a pile of earth, often very large in scale, that is shaped into the image of a person or animal, often for symbolic or spiritual reasons
- An enclosure is a space that is surrounded by an earthwork.
- Long barrows are oblong-shaped mounds that are used for burials.
- Tumuli are mounds of earth created over a tomb; it has the same meaning as barrow.
- Ridge and furrows are sets of parallel depressions and ridges in the ground formed primarily through historic farming techniques.
- Mottes are mound structures made of earth and stone that once held castles ;it is an important part of the motte and bailey castle, a castle design during early Norman times in which the castle is built on the motte, and it is surrounded by a ditch and a bailey, which is an enclosure with a stone wall.
- A round barrow is a mound that is in a rounded shape that was used during Neolithic times as a burial mound.
Read more about this topic: Earthwork (archaeology)
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