What are towers on castles called?
What are towers on castles called? Tower (or Keep) The tower is a circular or square building, which was used as a lookout and for defence. The central tower in a motte and bailey castle was known as the keep.
Why do castles have tall towers?
The Romans discovered that walled fortresses were more easily defended if towers were built into the defensive walls. These towers made it easy to give covering fire for the walls.
What is a portcullis in a castle?
A portcullis is a heavy castle door or gate made of metal strips that form a grid. A castle guardian might lower the portcullis to protect the people inside from an invading army. It was common during medieval times for castles to be protected by a portcullis or two.
What are castle steeples called?
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples.
What is a castle balcony called?
In medieval fortification, a bretèche or brattice is a small balcony with machicolations, usually built over a gate and sometimes in the corners of the fortress' wall, with the purpose of enabling defenders to shoot or throw objects at the attackers huddled under the wall.
What is a castle tower or turret?
Castle turrets are essentially small towers that were built into medieval castle fortifications, most typically walls and towers. The name 'turret' comes from the Italian torretta, meaning 'little tower', and the Latin word turris meaning 'tower'.
What is the bailey in a castle?
A bailey is the sturdy wall around a castle that keeps invaders out. The bailey of a medieval castle was usually built of stone. You might see a bailey — or the remains of one — if you tour a castle in England or France.
What are the small towers on a castle called?
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle.
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.
What is the water around a castle called?
moat, a depression surrounding a castle, city wall, or other fortification, usually but not always filled with water.
What is a motte in a castle?
The motte was a huge mound with a castle, or keep, built on top. It would have been easy to defend, as people would have had to climb up it slowly to reach the keep. Most mottes were surrounded by a deep ditch to stop attackers. The bailey was a large area of ground, surrounded by a tall, wooden fence.