Iru linnamägi, II a- tuh. e.Kr. - I a- tuh.

Unknown artist

Linnus, Iru hill-fort was a large Bronze and Iron Age centre. On the landscape, there can be seen two plateaus separated with a rampart – the southern is noticeably larger that the northern oneThe fortification of settlement sites in Estonia begun during Bronze Age when natural protection of the sites was enhanced with adding simple structures. The accumulation of earthen walls did not begin until Iron Age. Gateways and other edifices of the forts were built following certain standards. Most of the hill-forts were in use from the 2nd half of the first millennium until the end of Livonian Crusades at the beginning of 13th century. The Iru fortified settlement site was used already 800–500 BC, during Bronze Age, evidence of habitation during 3rd –2nd centuries BC have also been noticed.The longest and most intense settlement period on the Iru hill-fort was 6th–11th centuries AD. During that time have occurred two large fires on the fort. After the second fire ca 900 AD, the southern plateau was abandoned. The northern plateau was in use until 11th century and the settlement site north-east to the hill-fort was used from 7th to 13th centuries. In between the western slope of the hill and the Pirita River, signs of a possible harbour-site were noticed. The hill-fort has been fairly damaged: during the WW I there was a concrete bunker built in one of the ramparts and trenches were dug on the plateau during WW II. Previous had not discouraged the archaeologists and the first excavations on the site took place already in the 1930s. After that the hill-fort has been studied by several prominent archaeologists, e.g. Harri Moora, Artur Vassar and Valter Lang. The Iru hill-fort is under national protection and its registry number is 2609.