Moats, murder holes, arrow slits, and towering keeps—every stone had a purpose. Here’s how medieval builders created the ultimate defense machine.

A castle is a fortified residence for a medieval noble ... Loopholes: Narrow slits in the walls (also called embrasures, arrow slits, or arrow loops) through which soldiers could shoot arrows ...

It features a rear drawbridge, arched entries and windows (some with stained glass), and upper-level lookouts, including narrow openings called “arrow slits,” which medieval castle defenders ...

The battlements, arrow slits, and loopholes provided protected ... One of the biggest medieval castles in western Europe, it had many features added over the centuries, including this 13th-century ...

Preston says in medieval days the speed at which ... Cylindrical towers of the castle have slits for shooting arrows, known as arrow loops, which are spaced to avoid dead angles.

Medieval castles today seem largely ... walls were made so defenders could fire arrows while still benefiting from maximum protection. Later on, the slits would be horizontal as well as vertical ...

Even under Syria's intense sun, the windswept summit of Krak des Chevaliers is cooled by breezes that whip through arrow slits cut ... as an archetype of a medieval castle particularly in the ...

The spectacular Norman castles of Wales have been revealed in a series of intricate colour postcards from the 1890s, with turrets, arrow slits and tumbled down brickwork rife. The rugged country ...

This photo shows the battlements at Blackness Castle in Linlithgow. Arrow slits, like the very thin holes you can see at Hermitage Castle near Hawick (above), were very narrow windows that ...

The design is understood to follow that of a medieval castle, with battlements, faux-arrow slits and an imposing, portcullis-style arched entrance. The tower is in its own, private, electric ...

Newcastle is filled with remnants of the medieval town and its buildings ... Article continues below Arrow slits can still be seen, and there probably would have been murder holes through ...