Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The moat surrounding Matsumoto Castle. A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices.
The Benin Moat (Edo: Iyanuwo), [1] also known as the Benin Iya, or Walls of Benin, are a series of massive earthworks encircling Benin City in Nigeria's Edo State. These moats have deep historical roots, with evidence suggesting their existence before the establishment of the Oba monarchy .
Wall and moat were built atop the Phoenician cemetery, and cut across the ruins of the Phoenico-Persian, Hellenistic and Roman residences. The wall was built around the 9th century and dismantled at the beginning of the 20th century. Souk Al-Jamil was built over the backfilled moat.
A moat was a common addition to medieval fortifications, and the principal purpose was to simply increase the effective height of the walls and to prevent digging under the walls. In many instances, natural water paths were used as moats, and often extended through ditches to surround as much of the fortification as possible.
The moat that ran around the outside section of the city walls, which were armed by more than 120 cannons, provided superb city defense capabilities. [7] In 1979, the old city of Dubrovnik, which includes a substantial portion of the old walls of Dubrovnik, joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
It was also protected by a moat 45m wide with a depth of 4.5m. [19] During the Yuan dynasty, Suzhou's walls were over 7m tall and, 11m thick at the base, and 5m thick at the top. [20] During the Ming dynasty, prefectural and provincial capital walls were 10 to 20 metres (33 to 66 ft) thick at the base and 5 to 10 metres (16 to 33 ft) at the top.
The moat was situated at a distance of about 20 m from the outer wall. The moat itself was over 20 m wide and as much as 10 m deep, featuring a 1.5 m tall crenellated wall on the inner side, serving as a first line of defence. [45] [49] Transverse walls cross the moat, tapering towards the top so as not to be used as bridges. Some of them have ...
The medieval town contains a number of different architectural styles, due to its history. The town mostly developed under the Knights of St John, which accounts for its predominantly Gothic architecture. However, after the second Siege of Rhodes the medieval town was also developed in the Ottoman era.