Settlement

As barbarian society developed, the need for larger settlements to house more people increased. This gave rise to fortified settlements, which tended to be built on areas with natural defences such as hilltops, cliffs or river banks. These were fortified with stone or wooden defences, setting them apart from the smaller settlements of the tribes. Some historians argue that the addition of fortifications was not a defensive decision but was, in fact, a matter of prestige. A tribe could have more than one of these fortified settlements and their sizes varied significantly. Julius Caesar made a study of the Gauls and named their fortified settlements 'oppidum', noting that the differing sizes seemed to show the hierarchy within each tribe.