The construction of an earthen rampart was started shortly after the Bulgars settled in the Pliska plain (it has been suggested that these embankments may not have been built all at once), and the territory inside of this is known as the Outer Town, which consisted of multiple groupings of modest cottages with space in between for flocks of livestock and horses. This seemingly unusual layout may have been chosen as the Bulgars had been nomadic prior to building their capital at Pliska, and when they began to cooperate with the local Slavs (which formed a strong majority of the new state's population) a mixed pastoral and agricultural economy developed. The Inner Town, which was likely built later in the settlement's existence, consisted of a palace, basilica and aristocratic buildings inside a stone fortification. The Inner Town was surrounded by the Outer Town which was in turn surrounded by the earthen rampart.