Quantity matters. Studies on defensive settlements of the Hallstatt Period in Greater Poland

The issue of defensive settlement during the Hallstatt period (HaC-HaD) in the area of Greater Poland constitutes an important, although still insufficiently recognised, research topic. Given current research, 21 well-documented defensive sites are believed to have operated in the region at the beginning of the Iron Age. The article’s findings indicate that there has been a significant underestimation of the phenomenon’s scale. Pilot studies limited to three neighbouring districts have identified at least three new probable fortified settlements. The research was preliminary and requires continuation to confirm its chronological attribution to the Hallstatt period reliably. In the authors’ opinion, applying analogous methodological assumptions in other areas of the region may yield comparable findings and thus significantly shape the catalogue of defensive settlements from the beginnings of the Iron Agein Greater Poland. Considerable progress in these studies could indeed be achieved through systematic and reliable remote sensing prospection, as well as through a re-analysis of sites previously assessed negatively.