Idjang Fortresses of Batanes
How did a small island people, working stone and volcanic rock with no metal-rich toolkit and no written record, cut and terrace whole rocky hills into fortress-citadels reached only by ladders that could be pulled up behind them — and were these first and foremost places to live, or refuges to survive being raided?
pre-Hispanic Ivatan hillforts, c. 10th-16th century CE · Sabtang and Batan Islands, Batanes, PhilippinesAdded July 2026