Palisade

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Palisade

A palisade is a steel or wooden fence

Fence

A fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent Transport across a boundary. It is generally distinguished from a wall by the lightness of its construction: a wall is usually restricted to such barriers made from solid brick or concrete, blocking vision as well as passage ....
or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.

Typical construction
Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized trunks of trees aligned vertically, with no spacing in between.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Palisade'

Start a new discussion about 'Palisade'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

A palisade is a steel or wooden fence

Fence

Typical construction

Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized trunks of trees aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks would be sharpened or pointed at the top end, and be driven into the ground on the other end. They would sometimes be reinforced with additional construction. The height of a palisade can range from a few feet or more to nearly ten feet. As a defensive structure, palisades were often used in conjunction with earthworks

Earthworks (engineering)

Earthworks are engineering works created through the moving of massive quantities of soil or unformed rock . Engineers need to concern themselves with issues of geotechnical engineering and with quantity estimation to ensure that soil volumes in the Cut match those of the Fill dirt, while minimizing the distance of movement....
.

Palisades were an excellent option for small forts or other hastily constructed fortifications. Since they were wood, they could be quickly and easily built from materials readily available. They proved to be effective protection for short-term conflicts, and were an effective deterrent against small forces. However, due to their wooden construction, they were also very vulnerable to fire and siege weapons.

Often, a palisade would be constructed around a castle

Castle

A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress in that it describes a residence of a monarch or noble and commands a specific defensive territor...
as a temporary wall until a permanent stone wall could be erected. They were frequently used in New France

New France

The Viceroyalty of New France was the area French colonization of the Americas by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River, by Jacques Cartier in 1534, to the cession of New France to Spain and Kingdom of Great Britain in 1763....
.

Ancient Greece and Rome

Both the Greeks

Ancient Greece

The term Ancient Greece refers to the period of History of Greece lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman Republic conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth ....
and Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
created palisades to protect their military camps. The Roman historian Livy

Livy

Titus Livius , known as Livy in English language, was a Ancient Rome historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome, Ab Urbe Condita, from its founding through the reign of Augustus in Livy's own time....
describes the Greek method as being inferior to that of the Romans during the Second Macedonian War

Second Macedonian War

The Second Macedonian War was fought between Macedon, led by Philip V of Macedon, and Rome, allied with Pergamon and Rhodes. The result was the defeat of Philip who was forced to abandon all his possessions in Greece....
. The Greek stakes were too large to be easily carried, and were spaced too far apart. This made it easy for enemies to uproot them and create a large enough gap in which to enter. In contrast, the Romans used smaller and easier to carry stakes which were placed closer together, making them more difficult to uproot.

Precolumbian North America

Many settlements of the Mississippian culture

Mississippian culture

The Mississippian culture was a Mound builder Native Americans in the United States culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern United States, Eastern United States, and Southeastern United States United States from approximately 800 Common Era to 1500 Common Era, varying regionally....
of the Southeastern United States

Southeastern United States

The US Southeast is the eastern portion of the Southern United States, but the Census Bureau does not provide a standard definition of a "Southeast" region of the United States, and organizations that need to subdivide the US are free to define a "Southeast" region to fit their needs....
also made use of palisades. The most prominent example is the Cahokia Mounds site in Collinsville, Illinois

Collinsville, Illinois

Collinsville is a city located mainly in Madison County, Illinois, and partially in St. Clair County, Illinois, both in Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 24,707....
. A wooden stockade with a series of watchtowers or bastions at regular intervals formed a two-mile long enclosure around Monk's Mound and the Grand Plaza. Archaeologists found evidence of the stockade during excavation of the area and indications that it was rebuilt several times, in slightly different locations. The stockade seems to have separated Cahokia's main ceremonial precinct from other parts of the city, as well as being a defensive structure.

Other examples include the Angel Mounds Site

Angel Mounds

Angel Mounds State Historic Site is located on the Ohio River in Vanderburgh County, Indiana adjacent to Evansville, Indiana and just upriver of the confluence of the Green River and Ohio rivers....
in Southern Indiana

Indiana

The State of Indiana was the 19th U.S. state admitted into the union. It is located in the Midwestern United States of the United States of America....
, the Kincaid Site

Kincaid Mounds State Historic Site

The Kincaid Mounds Historic Site, circa 1050-1400 CE, was among the largest Mississippian culture chiefdom centers, located at the southern tip of the U.S....
in Illinois

Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
, the Parkin Site

Parkin Archeological State Park

Parkin Archeological State Park, also known as Parkin Indian Mound, is an archeological site and state park in Parkin, Arkansas, Cross County, Arkansas, Arkansas....
and the Nodena Sites

Nodena Site

The Nodena Site is an archeological site east of Wilson, Arkansas and northeast of Reverie, Tennessee in Mississippi County, Arkansas, Arkansas, United States....
in Southeastern Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States of the United States. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River....
and the Etowah Site

Etowah Indian Mounds

Etowah Indian Mounds is an archaeological site in Bartow County, Georgia south of Cartersville, Georgia in the United States. The site sits on the north shore of the Etowah River....
in Georgia.