Roel Konijnendijk
@roelkonijn.bsky.social
Ancient historian (Greece, Persia, war, history-writing). Darby Fellow in Ancient History at Lincoln College, Oxford. Moderator at r/AskHistorians. Ditch guy on YouTube.
I prepared for this
November 19, 2025 at 4:25 PM
I prepared for this
View of the ha-ha (also known as a blind fence or deer wall) at Langley Park. This is not a defensive ditch but a barrier that keeps sight lines open. Still, with just a couple stakes, you could easily--
November 2, 2025 at 7:54 PM
View of the ha-ha (also known as a blind fence or deer wall) at Langley Park. This is not a defensive ditch but a barrier that keeps sight lines open. Still, with just a couple stakes, you could easily--
Visited Saffron Walden today and admired its Great Ditch or Battle Ditch. The medieval town was unwalled; this earthwork (ditch + ramp) was its full defensive perimeter
October 11, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Visited Saffron Walden today and admired its Great Ditch or Battle Ditch. The medieval town was unwalled; this earthwork (ditch + ramp) was its full defensive perimeter
I've heard a lot of people say that my accent sounds Irish and apparently YouTube captions agree
(He definitely said "historien néerlandais"...)
(He definitely said "historien néerlandais"...)
August 15, 2025 at 7:34 PM
I've heard a lot of people say that my accent sounds Irish and apparently YouTube captions agree
(He definitely said "historien néerlandais"...)
(He definitely said "historien néerlandais"...)
A fun moment on the ol' hellsite
August 14, 2025 at 4:59 PM
A fun moment on the ol' hellsite
To general astonishment, this campaign did not end in a humbling of diplomatically isolated Thebes, but in a catastrophic Spartan defeat at the battle of Leuktra. Something like 20-25% of adult male Spartan citizens were killed. Their allies got a perfect view of how brittle their power had become.
July 6, 2025 at 10:29 AM
To general astonishment, this campaign did not end in a humbling of diplomatically isolated Thebes, but in a catastrophic Spartan defeat at the battle of Leuktra. Something like 20-25% of adult male Spartan citizens were killed. Their allies got a perfect view of how brittle their power had become.
You may not like it, but this is what peak defensive work on flat ground looks like
May 13, 2025 at 10:21 AM
You may not like it, but this is what peak defensive work on flat ground looks like
Even the wall they have at Jackson Hole is really badly designed. The scene reveals the problem perfectly: most zombies are pressed against the foot of the wall, and the defenders struggle to shoot at them because the targets are directly below. They have to lean over the edge to hit them
May 13, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Even the wall they have at Jackson Hole is really badly designed. The scene reveals the problem perfectly: most zombies are pressed against the foot of the wall, and the defenders struggle to shoot at them because the targets are directly below. They have to lean over the edge to hit them
People pinged me a few weeks ago to ask my opinion on the defences of Jackson Hole in The Last of Us S2E2. But they already know what I think. This town is an island in a hostile world but somehow it is ringed only by a single flimsy palisade! If you get turned into fungus here, that's on you
May 13, 2025 at 10:21 AM
People pinged me a few weeks ago to ask my opinion on the defences of Jackson Hole in The Last of Us S2E2. But they already know what I think. This town is an island in a hostile world but somehow it is ringed only by a single flimsy palisade! If you get turned into fungus here, that's on you
Proofs of the final piece to come out of my postdoc research (2018-2020) on the deep roots of scholarship on ancient Greek warfare. Written with much help from the brilliant Prof Herman Paul, who taught me as an MA student back in 2007, but was still somehow willing to supervise me
May 9, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Proofs of the final piece to come out of my postdoc research (2018-2020) on the deep roots of scholarship on ancient Greek warfare. Written with much help from the brilliant Prof Herman Paul, who taught me as an MA student back in 2007, but was still somehow willing to supervise me
Richmond Park yesterday
May 2, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Richmond Park yesterday
And on that note, of course, FIRE!
The villagers in the show appear to be making Molotov cocktails. I don't think you can make those effectively without distilled spirits. Perhaps strong drinks exist in-universe, but we haven't seen them. So this feels like a stretch, but I guess they have magic!
The villagers in the show appear to be making Molotov cocktails. I don't think you can make those effectively without distilled spirits. Perhaps strong drinks exist in-universe, but we haven't seen them. So this feels like a stretch, but I guess they have magic!
April 28, 2025 at 12:16 PM
And on that note, of course, FIRE!
The villagers in the show appear to be making Molotov cocktails. I don't think you can make those effectively without distilled spirits. Perhaps strong drinks exist in-universe, but we haven't seen them. So this feels like a stretch, but I guess they have magic!
The villagers in the show appear to be making Molotov cocktails. I don't think you can make those effectively without distilled spirits. Perhaps strong drinks exist in-universe, but we haven't seen them. So this feels like a stretch, but I guess they have magic!
Now for the bad stuff:
Volley fire commands to the archers. The "nock-draw-loose" thing.
I have raised this in several of my Insider videos now. I don't know why every show wants to do this. It's not real; it never happened; it is not a smart way to use archers (you will wear them out).
Volley fire commands to the archers. The "nock-draw-loose" thing.
I have raised this in several of my Insider videos now. I don't know why every show wants to do this. It's not real; it never happened; it is not a smart way to use archers (you will wear them out).
April 28, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Now for the bad stuff:
Volley fire commands to the archers. The "nock-draw-loose" thing.
I have raised this in several of my Insider videos now. I don't know why every show wants to do this. It's not real; it never happened; it is not a smart way to use archers (you will wear them out).
Volley fire commands to the archers. The "nock-draw-loose" thing.
I have raised this in several of my Insider videos now. I don't know why every show wants to do this. It's not real; it never happened; it is not a smart way to use archers (you will wear them out).
Also really good to see the show deploy women villagers for defence. Of course they wouldn't just cower in the town hall when an existential threat is at the gates. I really enjoyed this panning shot; these ladies look $*&%ing ready to kill trollocs
April 28, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Also really good to see the show deploy women villagers for defence. Of course they wouldn't just cower in the town hall when an existential threat is at the gates. I really enjoyed this panning shot; these ladies look $*&%ing ready to kill trollocs
The barriers themselves are simple chevaux-de-frise, probably because they're easy for the set builders to make. Normally these would be more suitable against cavalry; infantry can just pull them aside. Palisades need to be anchored in the ground. But it could still slow them down a bit
April 28, 2025 at 12:16 PM
The barriers themselves are simple chevaux-de-frise, probably because they're easy for the set builders to make. Normally these would be more suitable against cavalry; infantry can just pull them aside. Palisades need to be anchored in the ground. But it could still slow them down a bit
The layered defence is really good. The villagers create an onion of redundant defensible positions. Some of the forward layers are not even contested; they are just there to pin the enemy in a field of fire. This is good improvised defensive architecture (but needs ditches)
April 28, 2025 at 12:16 PM
The layered defence is really good. The villagers create an onion of redundant defensible positions. Some of the forward layers are not even contested; they are just there to pin the enemy in a field of fire. This is good improvised defensive architecture (but needs ditches)
The village siege in Wheel of Time S3E7 is in some ways clearly trying to be smarter than very similar scenes in recent media (GoT, Rings of Power, even Wheel of Time S1), but in other ways deeply beholden to the standards they set. Still no ditches, but are we making progress?🧵
April 28, 2025 at 12:16 PM
The village siege in Wheel of Time S3E7 is in some ways clearly trying to be smarter than very similar scenes in recent media (GoT, Rings of Power, even Wheel of Time S1), but in other ways deeply beholden to the standards they set. Still no ditches, but are we making progress?🧵
Back from a brief trip to the Netherlands, where I explored the fine moat of Enkhuizen
April 21, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Back from a brief trip to the Netherlands, where I explored the fine moat of Enkhuizen
In the movie (spoiler) they eventually dig under the wall. This would not have happened if it was a deeper system (dozens if not 100s of meters deep). Double curtains, ditches & pre-walls exist partly to make mining too difficult to be worth it. Are you gonna dig under all that?
March 26, 2025 at 1:18 PM
In the movie (spoiler) they eventually dig under the wall. This would not have happened if it was a deeper system (dozens if not 100s of meters deep). Double curtains, ditches & pre-walls exist partly to make mining too difficult to be worth it. Are you gonna dig under all that?
The wall in the movie has some nice fantasy bolt artillery, which should be effective against big monsters. But they're all on top of the wall! Put these on multiple stories inside the walls and towers; range them, and dig ditches at their extreme range. Force the enemy to get stuck there.
March 26, 2025 at 1:18 PM
The wall in the movie has some nice fantasy bolt artillery, which should be effective against big monsters. But they're all on top of the wall! Put these on multiple stories inside the walls and towers; range them, and dig ditches at their extreme range. Force the enemy to get stuck there.
Where the ground is more level, of course, there should be ditches. You can put stakes in them if you want, since the monsters don't seem to have much regard for self-preservation. Look at the valley from which they approach: ripe for some earthworks. They behave predictably, so punish them for it.
March 26, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Where the ground is more level, of course, there should be ditches. You can put stakes in them if you want, since the monsters don't seem to have much regard for self-preservation. Look at the valley from which they approach: ripe for some earthworks. They behave predictably, so punish them for it.
Look at this slope. It's perfect for terracing. Instead of abandoning it to the enemy, build a succession of walls, each overlooked by the one behind it. When the attackers take the first wall, they have just trapped themselves in front of the second. Then the third.
March 26, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Look at this slope. It's perfect for terracing. Instead of abandoning it to the enemy, build a succession of walls, each overlooked by the one behind it. When the attackers take the first wall, they have just trapped themselves in front of the second. Then the third.
The basic defensive concept here is a big wall along the crest of a ridge. Hard to approach and guaranteed to overlook the enemy - this works against most human armies. The problem is that monster numbers & speed overcome the advantage. The slope doesn't even slow them down much. What can be done?
March 26, 2025 at 1:18 PM
The basic defensive concept here is a big wall along the crest of a ridge. Hard to approach and guaranteed to overlook the enemy - this works against most human armies. The problem is that monster numbers & speed overcome the advantage. The slope doesn't even slow them down much. What can be done?
Zhang Yimou built a big wall set for the movie and filled it with fantasy gimmicks, which are mostly pretty fun. There are bungee-jumping warriors and spinning blades and catapults throwing fireballs (of course). But even in the movie, this isn't enough. So let's think of some improvements
March 26, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Zhang Yimou built a big wall set for the movie and filled it with fantasy gimmicks, which are mostly pretty fun. There are bungee-jumping warriors and spinning blades and catapults throwing fireballs (of course). But even in the movie, this isn't enough. So let's think of some improvements
On the subject of sieges in movies, I recently watched The Great Wall (2016) - a dubious spectacle and box office bomb, but also premised on a straightforward "siege" (tower defence) scenario. Monsters live in a distant mountain; they come out every 60 years; the wall has to stop them. Wat do?
March 26, 2025 at 1:18 PM
On the subject of sieges in movies, I recently watched The Great Wall (2016) - a dubious spectacle and box office bomb, but also premised on a straightforward "siege" (tower defence) scenario. Monsters live in a distant mountain; they come out every 60 years; the wall has to stop them. Wat do?