What sort of defences did a medieval castle have?
Not all castles were the same. Location made a difference some were built on top of mountains which were hard to scale from the side the invaders were most likely to come from. Often there was a moat with a draw bridge over it which could be retracted especially when unwelcome guests were expected to ‘call’. The moat usually was a part (maybe all) of the castle’s sewage system. Swimming across the moat was not recommended. The undulating rock pattern at the top of most castles, forts allowed for defenders to fire at invaders and then quickly hide behind cover. In later days there were holes in the walls to allow for cannons to fire at invaders. Defenders usually used (cross) bows and arrows and when invaders came close to the base of a castle they could pour burning liquids down on them. Defenders also used a variety of hurling mechanisms to throw burning liquids and heavy objects at invaders as they approached. Invaders would often travel with some sort of battering tools to break dow
