Did medieval castles use boiling oil?

Hot Oil was rarely thrown at attackers The idea of buckets of hot oil being dropped on attackers is common in TV and film, but hot oil was rarely used as a weapon. Those defending the castle would sometimes pour hot sand, boiling water or quicklime on attackers who were using scaling ladders to climb the walls.



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The first stone castles built were cold, dark, smelly and damp. Inside the castle walls, floor coverings consisted of straw rushes and, later, sweet smelling herbs to mask the smell of animal excrement, grease, rotting food and beer.

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Castles and manor houses often smelled damp and musty. To counteract this, herbs and rushes were strewn across the floors.

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