Editing Hillfort (section)

=== Latvia ===
{{Main article|List of hillforts in Latvia}}
[[File:2010 09 04 7Tervete37.JPG|thumb|Tērvete hillfort. Main [[Semigallians|Semigallian]] centre in the late Iron Age]]
The Latvian word for ''hillfort'' is {{Lang|lv|pilskalns}} (plural: {{Lang|lv|pilskalni}}), from ''{{Lang|lv|pils}}'' (castle) and ''{{Lang|lv|kalns}}'' (hill).

Hillforts in [[Latvia]] offered not only military and administrative functions but they were also cultural and economic centres of some regions. Latvian hillforts generally were a part of a complex consisting of the main fortress, the settlement around it, one or more burial fields and nearby ritual sites. The first hillforts in Latvia, such as Daugmale hillfort, appeared during the [[Bronze Age]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lnvm.lv/en/?page_id=863|title=Ancient History of Latvia (11 000 BC – 1200) ← National History Museum of Latvia}}</ref> Some were continuously inhabited until the late [[Iron Age]].<ref name=Bielenstein>{{harvnb|Bielenstein|1869}}</ref><ref name=Moora>{{harvnb|Moora|1929}}</ref>

During the Roman Iron Age, some of the Latvian hillforts (like [[Ķivutkalns]]) were abandoned or became sparsely populated. A new period in hillfort development started during the 5th–8th centuries AD, when many new hillforts appeared, in most cases, along the main trades routes—rivers. During the 10th–11th centuries, some of the hillforts became military fortresses with strong fortifications (like hillforts in [[Tērvete]], [[Talsi]], [[Mežotne]]). Some of them are considered important political centres of the local peoples, who in this period were subjects of serious social political changes. That period was known for unrest and military activities, as well as power struggles between local aristocracy. Most of the Latvian hillforts were destroyed or abandoned during the [[Livonian Crusade]] in the 13th century, but some were still used in the 14th century. In total, there are about 470 hillforts in Latvia.<ref name=Bielenstein/><ref name=Moora/>

*[https://www.latvijas-pilskalni.lv Iron Age hillforts in Latvia]