Biskupin is one of the best known hill forts in the world, because its amazing preservation has allowed us to take a close look at what an Iron Age hill fort might have looked like ca 500 BC.

A hill fort is actually a misnomer--not all hill forts were built on hills. In general, the term refers to a residence or dwelling that has defensive structures or has been built in a defensible place. Called more generally a fortified settlement, hill forts are known throughout the world and pretty much throughout time, but they really kicked into gear in late Bronze Age Europe when people began to live in ranked societies, with a differential access to luxury and traded items.

Biskupin (known as the Polish Pompeii) was a village of around 800-1000 people who built a planned settlement of houses surrounded by a 550 meter-long, 3.5 meter wide and 3 meter high wall. As you can see in the photo, much of the town of Biskupin has been reconstructed. Reenactment festivals are held there each September by the Archaeological Museum of Biskupin, so be prepared to go get your geek on. There is lots more here to be read about Biskupin, or hill forts for that matter, if you've a mind to read a little deeper into our paranoid past.

• Biskupin, read more about the settlement
• The Archaeological Museum of Biskupin
• Hill forts, more about the phenomenon of hill forts
• Iron Age archaeology
• Ranking and Stratified Societies