Castles Defenses

In the medieval ages castles had to be defended somehow, but how?  The medieval castle was a base of defense in which knights could strike opposing forces when they saw them.  There were look out posts where garrisons could see for miles.  Castles in the 12th and 13th century were much of medieval warfare and kings would love to conquer new castles because they were a military center.  Lots of military supplies were stored there so that the military could always be sure they could not be taken over.

One castle in particular was famous for it's defenses.  This castle is called the Dover Castle.  It was built on a sea side cliff so 50% of the Dover Castle was already protected.  Also, the Dover Castle was built on a rocky base so people couldn't dig under it.  Usually castles had the bailey in front of the motte but the Dover Castle had the motte inside the bailey surrounded by a wall and a tower in the middle.  That was a very smart thing to do. 

Some defenses on regular castles were moats, or ditches filled with water.  Also,  the walls were really high and eventually were made of stone so the walls were basically fire proof.  Two towers were built beside the gate since that was the weak spot.  Archers on the towers and men in the towers were there to charge if archers died or too many people were charging.