Amongst the most common of all British ancient monuments are those known rather misleadingly as hillforts. Whilst more than a thousand can be recognised in southern Britain, not all of them are on hill tops nor can they be identified as forts. The author considers these points in particular when he tries to assess the function and situation of hillforts, asking the questions 'When were they built?', 'By whom?' and 'Why?' The book considers the nature of the defences, the design of their entrances and thoughts on the internal design of these monuments, some of which are most spectacularly...