What is the water called around 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.



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In medieval castles, the area surrounded by a curtain wall, with or without towers, is known as the bailey. The outermost walls with their integrated bastions and wall towers together make up the enceinte or main defensive line enclosing the site.

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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.

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The well – as well as any available cisterns – provided a protected source of drinking water for the castle garrison in peace and war and also for any civil population seeking refuge during a siege.

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In some castles, there is an inner bailey that is an enclosed area closer to the tower or keep, and an outer bailey which is an area further out from the tower but that is still protected by the curtain wall. Windsor Castle is an example of a castle with a motte and a bailey.

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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.

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Initially, castles were built out of wood, but eventually, people made castles from stone because they were stronger and lasted longer. Castles usually consisted of a group of buildings that were surrounded by a huge wall and a moat designed to keep attackers out.

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In the medieval period luxury castles were built with indoor toilets known as 'garderobes', and the waste dropped into a pit below.

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It turns out that those fairy tales you read as a child all left out a very important truth: The moats that surrounded medieval castles weren't just useful defenses against attack; they were also open sewers into which the castles' primitive waste disposal systems flushed human excrement and other foul substances.

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The bathing itself consisted of washing the body with sweet smelling oils, or if they could afford it, tallow soap. If they had lots of money, or say, were a Lord or Lady in a castle, they'd 'top and tail' at least twice a day.

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