What are the holes in castles for guns?
What are the holes in castles for guns? A loophole, arrow loop or arrowslit passes through a solid wall, and thus forms an embrasure of shooting, allowing archer or gunner weapons to be fired out from the fortification while the firer remains under cover.
Why did castles have secret tunnels?
Some buildings have secret areas built into their original plans, such as secret passages in medieval castles, designed to allow inhabitants to escape from enemy sieges. Other castles' secret passages led to an underground water source, providing water during prolonged sieges.
What are the dips in castle walls called?
Meurtriere: arrow loop, slit in battlement or wall to permit firing of arrows or for observation. Moat: a deep trench usually filled with water that surrounded a castle.
What is the most vulnerable part of a castle?
As the gate is always a vulnerable point of a castle, towers may be built near it to strengthen the defences at this point. In crusader castles, there is often a gate tower, with the gate passage leading through the base of the tower itself.
What is the oldest castle in Europe?
Converted into a donjon around 950, Château de Doué-la-Fontaine in France is the oldest standing castle in Europe.
How did castles get water?
Water cisterns to collect rainwater were also built within the castle walls; in the case of Dover Castle, these cisterns were in a building attached to and in front of the keep. Pipes carried rainwater from the roof into the cisterns, and it was also possible to get water from a well by using a bucket on a chain.
Why do castles have turrets?
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification.
What is the water thing around a castle?
moat, a depression surrounding a castle, city wall, or other fortification, usually but not always filled with water.