A few people have asked me where I got the design from, it is from a book, or how did I come up with it?

Since this isn't really part of the plan, it won't be linked on the menu. But it really belongs here.

Firstly, it isn't directly from any book. I read a lot of medieval castle books for inspiration, and I owe the idea of six walls to a man called David Gemmell. But it really evolved from the most basic designs.

I began with the single requirement that I would need enough land to grow food for 50 people for one year. That land would need to have a perimeter wall, and housing.



(I didn't originally do all the designs in Sketchup, just the final version. The rest were done with good old pencil and paper, simple shapes, circles, lines, squares etc)

As you can see, it is the most basic idea. A circle is the most efficient way to encompass the land required. However, it has the most basic weakness as well: if the perimeter is breached at any one point then the land is lost, and those inside are likely killed.



As this one shows, this is where the tier started, and the design is from the most basic castles, motte and bailey. You put the houses on a higer plot of land, and this begins the defense-in-depth idea.



And from this one you can see the beginnings of the final design. The tier was moved to the far edge to allow a better defensive perimeter. Since the back wall is 20 feet tall, it reduces the perimeter of the tier by about one fifth.



This is the last design that was made of circular perimeters. You can see I went for six walls. As mentioned earlier this number is from a (fictional) fort, and each wall was named. The names referred to the emotions and feelings that the defenders would have as they fought at each successive wall as they fell back. Exultation, from surviving the first battle. Despair, because if one wall can be lost, then they all can. Hope, for we did not die yet, and there are still three more walls. Desperation, every fighter is now tired from the exertions of battle. Serenity, everyone has made their peace, and is willing to accept their fate. Finally, Death. The last wall is where you die trying.

I read that years ago, and it stuck with me that those are the emotions that defenders of a siege will face. It is similar to the five stages of grief that cancer patients are told to expect. I think that by keeping that expectation as part of the design, it will help to know what is coming.



The next design was close to the final one. It is made of rectangles, since I noticed that the long thin box would allow a wide growing area, but a narrow defensive perimeter if it only had the low wall on the short side. Whilst the individual low walls are the long side, overall the entrances are on the short side of the base perimeter.



The final version of the defensive line, and again I take the shape from the description of the fort from Legend. Each wall is shorter than the last, making them more easily defended by smaller numbers. Since casualties are inevitable, it makes sense to have a smaller defensive line the more you have to retreat. For example, the first wall is 800 feet in length, whist the one leading from tier 5 to 6 is only 300 feet.

I'll keep on adding more Sketchup designs of the old paper notes when I can. Hopefully it will be useful to other people when they design their bases.