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Murder holes at Bodiam Castle. A murder hole or meurtrière is a hole in the ceiling of a gateway or passageway in a fortification through which the defenders could shoot, throw or pour harmful substances or objects such as rocks, arrows, scalding water, hot sand, quicklime, or boiling oil, down on attackers. Boiling oil was rarely used because ...
A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals to allow for the launch of arrows or other projectiles from within the defences. [1]
Marmots have been known since antiquity. Research by the French ethnologist Michel Peissel claimed the story of the " Gold-digging ant " reported by the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus , who lived in the fifth century BCE, was founded on the golden Himalayan marmot of the Deosai Plateau and the habit of local tribes such as the Brokpa to ...
A style which became prevalent in Italy in the century following 1500, now usually called 16th-century work. It was the result of the revival of classic architecture known as Renaissance, but the change had commenced already a century earlier, in the works of Ghiberti and Donatello in sculpture, and of Brunelleschi and Alberti in architecture ...
In Europe the height of wall construction was reached under the Roman Empire, whose walls often reached 10 metres (33 ft) in height, the same as many Chinese city walls, but were only 1.5 to 2.5 metres (4 ft 11 in to 8 ft 2 in) thick. Rome's Servian Walls reached 3.6 and 4 metres (12 and 13 ft) in thickness and 6 to 10 metres (20 to 33 ft) in ...
The dungeons of Blarney Castle, Ireland. A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably derives more from the Renaissance period.
Embrasure with 3 angles of fire, Keoti Fort, India A loophole or inverted keyhole embrasure, allowing both arrow fire (through the arrowslit at the top) and small cannon fire through the circular openings, Fort-la-Latte, France Embrasure of Chinese wall Embrasures at Mdina, Malta Embrasure at Atalaya Castle (Spain) Annotated sketch of an Italian battlement
The nest chamber may be about twenty inches to three feet (51–91 cm) below ground surface. It is about 16 inches (41 cm) wide and 14 inches (36 cm) high. There are typically two burrow openings or holes. One is the main entrance, the other a spy hole. Description of the length of the burrow often includes side galleries.