Fortified settlements

Where do you go when it's no longer safe at home? To family or friends? To the police? Around the year zero in Drenthe, some people choose to surround their settlements with earthen walls, ditches and rows of wooden posts. To be honest, we're not sure if the fortifications served as protection: they don't seem strong enough for that. It remains unclear what they are for. Findings of pottery and grinding stones point to daily activities in these fortified settlements. A bronze neck ring probably belonged to an important local leader. Perhaps they served as meeting places or for trading in times of bad harvests, or maybe to hold ritual ceremonies. What do you think?