Murus Gallicus - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Murus Gallicus or Gallic Wall is a method of construction of defensive walls used to protect Iron Age

Iron Age

The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

hillforts and oppida

Oppidum

Oppidum is a Latin word meaning the main settlement in any administrative area of ancient Rome. The word is derived from the earlier Latin ob-pedum, "enclosed space," possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *pedóm-, "occupied space" or "footprint."Julius Caesar described the larger Celtic Iron Age...

of the La Tene period in Western Europe.

The distinctive features are:

earth or rubble fill
transverse cross beams at approximately 2 ft (60 cm) intervals
longitudinal timbers laid on the cross beams and attached with mortice joints, nails, or iron spikes through auger
Auger
An auger is a drilling device, or drill bit, that usually includes a rotating helical screw blade called a "flighting" to act as a screw conveyor to remove the drilled out material...

ed holes
outer stone facing
cross beams protruding through the stone facing

The technique was described by Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

in his Commentaries on the Gallic Wars

Commentarii de Bello Gallico

Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies in Gaul that opposed Roman domination.The "Gaul" that Caesar...

But this is usually the form of all the Gallic walls. Straight beams, connected lengthwise and two feet distant from each other at equal intervals, are placed together on the ground; these are morticed on the inside, and covered with plenty of earth. But the intervals which we have mentioned, are closed up in front by large stones. These being thus laid and cemented together, another row is added above, in such a manner, that the same interval may be observed, and that the beams may not touch one another, but equal spaces intervening, each row of beams is kept firmly in its place by a row of stones. In this manner the whole wall is consolidated, until the regular height of the wall be completed.

... it possesses great advantages as regards utility and the defence of cities; for the stone protects it from fire, and the wood from the battering ram, since it [the wood] being morticed in the inside with rows of beams, generally forty feet each in length, can neither be broken through nor torn asunder.

About 30 structures of this type have been excavated, mainly in Gaul

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

, but extending to the upper reaches of the Rhine and Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

. The example at the sea promontory fort

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 utilizing the topography to reduce the ramparts needed. Although their dating is problematic, most seem to date to the Iron Age...

of Le Camp d'Artus, at Huelgoat

Huelgoat

Huelgoat is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Huelgoat are called in French Huelgoatains.-Geography:...

, was excavated and reported by Sir Mortimer Wheeler

Mortimer Wheeler

Brigadier Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH, CIE, MC, FBA, FSA , was one of the best-known British archaeologists of the twentieth century.-Education and career:...

.

The murus Gallicus contrasts with other construction styles:

Pfostenschlitzmauer
Pfostenschlitzmauer
Pfostenschlitzmauer is a method of constructing defensive walls protecting Iron Age hillforts and oppida in Central Europe, including Bavaria and the Czech Republic. It is characterized by vertical wooden posts set into the front stone facing. The rampart is constructed from a timber lattice...

- characterised by upright wooden posts in the outer wall, typical in Central Europe.
Dacian Wall
Murus dacicus
Murus Dacicus is a construction method for defensive walls and fortifications developed in ancient Dacia sometime before the Roman conquest...

- inner and outer stone walls reinforced with inner horizontal timber tie beams.

At Manching

Oppidum of Manching

The Oppidum of Manching was a large Celtic proto-urban or city-like settlement at modern-day Manching , Bavaria . The settlement was founded in the 3rd century BC and existed until c. 50-30 BC. It reached its largest extent during the late La Tène period , when it had a size of 380 hectares...

an earlier murus gallicus wall was rebuilt in the pfostenschlitzmauer style.

See also