Rampart (fortification) in the context of "Ringwork"

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⭐ Core Definition: Rampart (fortification)

In fortification architecture, a rampart is a length of embankment or wall forming part of the defensive boundary of a castle, hillfort, settlement or other fortified site. It is usually broad-topped and made of excavated earth and/or masonry.

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Rampart (fortification) in the context of Hillfort

A hillfort is a type of fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late European Bronze Age and Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roman period. The fortification usually follows the contours of a hill and consists of one or more lines of earthworks or stone ramparts, with stockades or defensive walls, and external ditches. If enemies were approaching, the inhabitants would spot them from a distance.

Prehistoric Europe saw a growing population. It has been estimated that in about 5000 BC, during the Neolithic period, between 2 million and 5 million people lived in Europe; in the Late Iron Age, Europe had an estimated population of around 15 to 30 million. Outside Greece and Italy, which were more densely populated, the vast majority of settlements in the Iron Age were small, with perhaps no more than 50 inhabitants. Hillforts were the exception, and were the home of up to 1,000 people. With the emergence of oppida in the Late Iron Age, settlements could reach as large as 10,000 inhabitants. As the population increased, so did the complexity of prehistoric societies. Around 1100 BC hillforts emerged and in the following centuries spread through Europe. They served a range of purposes and were variously tribal centres, defended places, foci of ritual activity, and places of production.

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Rampart (fortification) in the context of Escalade

Escalade is the act of scaling defensive walls or ramparts with the aid of ladders. Escalade was a prominent feature of sieges in ancient and medieval warfare. Although no longer common in modern warfare, escalade technologies are still developed and used in certain tactical applications.

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Rampart (fortification) in the context of Promontory fort

A promontory fort is a defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus using the topography to reduce the ramparts needed.

The oldest known promontory fort is Amnya I in Siberia which was established as a fortified site in the late 7th millennium BC. Although their dating is problematic, most seem to date to the Iron Age. They are mainly found in Ireland, Brittany, the Orkney Islands, the Isle of Man, Devon, the Channel Islands and Cornwall.

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Rampart (fortification) in the context of Danubian Limes

The Danubian Limes (German: Donaulimes), or Danube Limes, refers to the Roman military frontier or limes which lies along the River Danube in the present-day German state of Bavaria, in Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania.

The Danube was not always or everywhere used by the Romans as the military frontier which was moved north or south in some locations according to military conquests, but it was maintained in many places as a fairly permanent defensive structure for long periods. The border was reinforced with numerous watchtowers, legion camps (castra) and forts (castella). Due to the boggy and dendritic nature of the Danube's river banks no border ramparts were built, unlike the Neckar-Odenwald Limes in Germany. The camps were built in the mid-1st century. Later, under Trajan, the camps, which had originally only been surrounded by earthen embankments, were enclosed by stone walls.

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Rampart (fortification) in the context of Siegfried Line

The Siegfried Line, known in German as the Westwall ([ˈvɛstˌval], 'western rampart'), was a German defensive line built during the late 1930s. Started in 1936, opposite the French Maginot Line, it stretched more than 630 km (390 mi) from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the western border of Nazi Germany, to the town of Weil am Rhein on the border with Switzerland. The line featured more than 18,000 bunkers, tunnels and tank traps.

From September 1944 to March 1945, the Siegfried Line was subjected to a large-scale Allied offensive.

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Rampart (fortification) in the context of Motte-and-bailey

A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to build with unskilled labour, but still militarily formidable, these castles were built across northern Europe from the 10th century onwards, spreading from Normandy and Anjou in France, into the Holy Roman Empire, as well as the Low Countries it controlled, in the 11th century, when these castles were popularized in the area that became the Netherlands. The Normans introduced the design into England and Wales. Motte-and-bailey castles were adopted in Scotland, Ireland, and Denmark in the 12th and 13th centuries. By the end of the 13th century, the design was largely superseded by alternative forms of fortification, but the earthworks remain a prominent feature in many countries.

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Rampart (fortification) in the context of Cadillac Escalade

The Cadillac Escalade is a full-size luxury SUV manufactured by General Motors and marketed by Cadillac as its first major entry into the SUV market. The Escalade was introduced for the 1999 model year in response to an influx of new luxury SUVs in the late 1990s including the Mercedes-Benz M-Class, Range Rover, Lexus LX, and Ford's 1998 debut of the Lincoln Navigator. The Escalade project went into production only ten months after it was approved. The Escalade is built in Arlington, Texas.

The term "escalade" refers to a siege warfare tactic of scaling defensive walls or ramparts with the aid of ladders or siege towers. More generally, it is a French word which is the noun-equivalent form of the French verb escalader, which means "to climb or scale".

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