Julian Cope presents Head Heritage

A very interesting discussion - just read it. Thanks both. The next paragraph Barry Cunliffe writes is as follows:
"The halls represented the desire of the social group to make a mark on the landscape – to create a ‘place’. Their very existence is symbolic of the community’s willingness and ability to work together. Thus they represent group cohesion, but how did they actually function? They could have housed extended families, the larger examples being capable of sheltering between twenty and twenty-five households, but they could equally well have been communal buildings used for assemblies or reserved for the performance of specific rites. Nor is it impossible that they were multifunctional. That three of the large Scottish halls, Claish, Crathes, and Balbridie, were all burnt down hints at the possibility of a ritual end, the burning representing a deliberate act of closure. If the halls had been the residences of the elite, then the death of a prominent member may have been the occasion. If they were communal structures, termination by fire might have been associated with the idea of social renewal. We can speculate, but are unlikely to ever know."

He doesn't add to the speculation (re EGD's original point about possible defence against aggressive attacks) that the Scottish halls may have been burned by hostile aggressors but given the probability of the continuation of human behaviour are there any good reasons to dismiss this idea? We seem to be a war loving species by and large.