the european concept of lines of forts was no doubt influenced by local topography, in that their presence facilitated the movement of goods and people through travel arteries and provided fortified refuges in times of hostility. a similar situation is documented in colonial massachusetts, wherein a chain of frontier forts traversed a straight-line distance of 38 miles over the rough terrain of the northern berkshires. coe writes: "[a]ll construction in them was timber, with no masonry beyond chimneys and chimney bases, and no earthworks" (2006:5). one of coe's archaeological case studies was also called fort shirley, by the same namesake. another similarity lies in the pioneering activities of the local leaders and the speculation of "wild lands".