Perhaps nothing better represents the royalty and romance of medieval England than the image of the majestic stone castle, its fortified towards reaching skyward and its drawbridge stretching over a deep and treacherous moat. Not all castles in the English countryside were constructed of stone and mortar though, and long before the Fuedal-era the architects of the Middle Ages were constructing similarly impressive fortifications with nothing more than earth and timber. Though strategically constructed to withstand powerful attack, these massive structures were much more susceptible to the elements than their stone counterparts, and to this day barely a trace of the once majestic castles still exists. Thanks to the tireless efforts of dedicated historians and archeologists, however, viewers curious to delve a bit deeper into the mystery of these forerunners to the stone citadels so familiar to modern history buffs can finally explore the origins of inspiration for these remarkable structures.
![NOVA: Australia's First 4 Billion Years [2 Discs]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0841887018517_p0_v3_s90x140.jpg "NOVA: Australia's First 4 Billion Years [2 Discs]")
