>
Not necessarily, and probably a lot less than you expect where there is wind erosion. My favourite comparison are the Aran Islands in the Galway Bay, west of Ireland. Even though the rock is laminated vertically, there are lots of places where the wind takes away good soil even from the crevices. Pictures of Dun Angus ought to be at Google...
> My thinking is that a tribe that highly values cattle, would want it's
> place of refuge in a crisis to be able to support the cattle for a
> moderate period of time; I guess the Iron Age hill forts in the UK, with
> their large grassy enclosures, may have performed such a function.
True in both cases. However, Whitewall wasn't designed as a hillfort, but as an exercise in impregnability.
> Presumably the grazing would only last weeks or months and the cattle
> would be eaten early on in the siege; then later any horses.
Actually, the cattle could be fed on thatching and straw bedding for some time, hopefully providing dairy products until slaughtered.
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