What are the tops of castle walls called?
What are the tops of castle walls called? A battlement is the upper walled part of a castle or fortress.
What are the features of castle walls?
The top of the castle walls were the battlements, a protective, tooth shaped parapet often with a wall walk behind it for the soldiers to stand on. The defenders could fire missiles through gaps (crenels). The raised sections between, called merlons, helped to shelter the defenders during an enemy attack.
What is a talus in a castle?
In architecture, the talus is a feature of some late medieval castles, especially prevalent in crusader constructions. It consists of a battered (sloping) face at the base of a fortified wall.
What is a plinth on a castle?
Batter (Plinth) The angled lower part of a tower or wall. Missiles dropped from the top of the towers or wall onto the plinth cause them to richochet horizontally into the attackers doing more damage. Plinths also strengthened the bases of the towers or walls and also made it harder to undermine them.
What is the wooden structure on top of castle walls?
Hoardings. Wooden structures added to the top of walls and towers to provide a covered walkway and a secure place for defensive fire. Sometimes they could be removed during peacetime.
What were the inner and outer walls of a castle called?
The inner bailey or inner ward of a castle is the strongly fortified enclosure at the heart of a medieval castle. It is protected by the outer ward and, sometimes also a Zwinger, moats, a curtain wall and other outworks. Depending on topography it may also be called an upper bailey or upper ward.
What is a rampart in a castle?
In fortification architecture, a bank or rampart is a length of embankment or wall forming part of the defensive boundary of a castle, hillfort, settlement or other fortified site. It is usually broad-topped and made of excavated earth and/or masonry.