Cliff Castles and Cave Dwellings of Europe

A descriptive survey of cliff castles, cave dwellings, and subterranean habitations across Europe, it traces prehistoric cave-occupations and artistic remains, documents enduring troglodyte communities and their architectural methods, and compares European sites with similar rock settlements elsewhere. It examines construction techniques, internal arrangements, sanitation, causes of abandonment such as climatic change, and the use of caves and souterrains as wartime refuges. Interleaved are regional sketches and case studies that illustrate defensive adaptations, everyday life underground, and the continuity between prehistoric and medieval uses of rock spaces.