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Granary |
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SMALL WALL |
MEDIUM WALL |
FORTIFICATION |
WATCH TOWER |
SENTRY TOWER |
GUARD TOWER |
BALLISTA TOWER
Siege weapons/ships: Siege Workshop units, Catapult Trireme, Juggernaught.
Missile weapons: Archery Range units, towers, Scout Ship, War Galley, Trireme.
Hand-to-hand units: Barracks, Academy, Stable units (except War Elephant).
Small Wall |
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- Cost: 50F
- First Available: Tool
- Effect: Small Wall is available to build.
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In his book A History of Warfare, John Keegan speaks of three forms of fortification refuges, strongholds, and strategic defenses. He describes the refuge as a place of short-term safety from an enemy who does not possess the means for a protracted siege or who wants only to raid and carry off plunder, perhaps repeatedly over time. The earliest walls were built to protect food supplies from nomadic raiders who found readily available supplies of food an irresistible attraction. The existence of a granary made necessary the provision of a wall to keep the granary from being pillaged. A small wall represents the defense provided by a refuge. The modest investment in a wooden palisade or simple wall of dirt stopped the casual raider, but would not seriously delay a large army set on destroying or capturing a refuge.
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Medium Wall |
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- Cost: 180F 100S
- First Available: Bronze
- Effect: Upgrades Small Walls to Medium Walls.
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One of the earliest human settlements yet discovered is the city of Jericho near the Jordan River in modern Israel. This site from 7000 BC is remarkable for possessing a stone masonry wall, dry moat around the wall, and a tower. At an astonishingly early date, Jericho demonstrated that the ancients understood principles of fortification that would carry forward essentially unchanged until the development of gunpowder. The Medium Wall is a defensive structure built of stone or other substantial construction to withstand a protracted attack.
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Fortification |
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- Cost: 300F 175S
- First Available: Iron
- Effect: Upgrades Medium Walls to Fortification walls.
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The great civilizations of ancient times built ever-larger fortifications to protect their important cities and frontiers. Herodotus reported that the walls of Babylon were sufficiently thick that a chariot could be driven on them around the city. Archaeology indicates that large walls were not invulnerable every great ancient city appears to have been stormed eventually but only a large and well-equipped army could surmount them.
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Watch Tower |
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- Cost: 50F
- First Available: Tool
- Effect: Watch Tower is available to build.
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The tower discovered on the wall at the ancient site of Jericho served several purposes. It extended the visual range of lookouts that would be watching for the approach of raiders and other visitors. An early warning might have been the difference between a successful defense and the fall of the town. The tower was a superior firing position for archery. Bowmen shooting down had an advantage in range and penetration power of arrows versus enemies shooting up. Enemies hiding at the bottom of the wall may have remained visible to archers in the tower. The tower itself was an independent bastion that could serve as the defensive position of last resort if the wall was carried. The Watch Tower was a simple tower, easily built, and intended mainly to give early warning.
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Sentry Tower |
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- Cost: 120F 50S
- First Available: Bronze
- Effect: Upgrades Watch Towers to Sentry Towers.
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The Sentry Tower was an improved fortification of strong materials and designed for defense.
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Guard Tower |
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- Cost: 300F 100S
- First Available: Iron
- Effect: Upgrades Sentry Towers to Guard Towers.
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The Guard Tower was a superior fortification, well-designed for holding out against attack and for bringing weapons to bear on an attacker.
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Ballista Tower |
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- Cost: 1800F 750S
- First Available: Iron
- Effect: Upgrades Guard Towers to Ballista Towers.
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The Ballista Tower was the ultimate defensive fortification of the ancient era. It could withstand a major attack and was equipped and designed to take a heavy toll on attackers.
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