How does a murder hole work in the medieval times?

How does a murder hole work in the medieval times?

A murder hole or meurtrière is a hole in the ceiling of a gateway or passageway in a fortification through which the defenders could fire, throw or pour harmful substances or objects such as rocks, arrows, scalding water, hot sand, quicklime, tar, or boiling oil, down on attackers.

What are murder holes made of?

Medieval Murder holes were also built around castle walls and Machicolations were built to give murder holes a better position. Machicolations were made of wood initially and later stone and were added to a castles outer walls (curtain walls).

What are the holes in castle walls for?

Putlog holes or putlock holes are small holes made in the walls of structures to receive the ends of poles (small round logs) or beams, called putlogs or putlocks, to support a scaffolding. Putlog holes may extend through a wall to provide staging on both sides of the wall.

What are arrow slits in castles called?

An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts.

What is the moat in a castle?

moat, a depression surrounding a castle, city wall, or other fortification, usually but not always filled with water. The existence of a moat was a natural result of early methods of fortification by earthworks, for the ditch produced by the removal of earth to form a rampart made a valuable part of the defense system.

What were Machicolations used for?

A machicolation (French: mâchicoulis) is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones or other material, such as boiling water or boiling cooking oil, could be dropped on attackers at the base of a defensive wall.

Why were castle walls so thick?

The walls were made thicker at the bottom to preclude the possibility of tunneling from the enemy. During the early medieval times, wood and heavy timbers called Palisades were also used for the construction of medieval castle walls. Holes were retained in the medieval castle walls which acted as arrow-loops.

What are the arrow holes in castles called?