Moat facts for kids
A moat is a body of water around a castle or town to keep people out. The moat was introduced in 1154 - 1485. At first, moats were simple and used only for protection. Later on, moats became more complicated and were used for show.
Moats are deep, wide ditches filled with water. They were usually built near sources of water that flowed into the moats, filling them with water. The moats were filled with water for a few reasons. It made enemies swimming across the moat easy targets. It also made it impossible for enemies to dig underneath the castle walls, which was a common method of attack. It also prevented fires from destroying the castle.
Contents
Origin
The word moat comes from the French word motte, which means hill. Moats were first used in the Medieval period, from 1016 to 1164. Castles were built on the top of high hills. The area at the bottom of the hill was eventually called the moat.
Usage
Castle moats were usually between 5 and 40 feet deep, and they were not always filled with water. Not all moats contained water, as a simple dry, wide ditch could prove an obstacle. These were called dry moats.
In many stories, moats are filled with alligators or crocodiles. This is a myth. However, moats were sometimes filled with fish or eels for food.
Images for kids
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The moat surrounding Matsumoto Castle
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North view of the fortress of Buhen in Ancient Egypt.
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A medieval moat castle in Steinfurt, Germany
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The 17th-century fortified town of Naarden, Netherlands, showing bastions projecting into the wet moat
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Dry moat at the James Farley Post Office in New York City.
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Moat surrounding Fort Pulaski National Monument near Savannah, Georgia
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Bodiam Castle, a 14th-century castle near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England
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Caerlaverock Castle, a 13th-century castle in southern Scotland
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The Forbidden City, Beijing: North-western angle
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Egeskov Castle, Denmark
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Castle of Lissingen
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Sigiriya moat, Sri Lanka
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Frozen moat of the walled city of Qufu, China
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Fort Bourtange, a late 16th-century star fort in Groningen, Netherlands
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Fort Brockhurst a mid-19th-century polygonal fort in Hampshire, England
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Moat with civic houses bordering on it in Steinfurt
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Beijing ancient city gate and moat
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Vellore Fort Moat, in Tamil Nadu, India
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The Daalsesingel, a part of the moat that surrounds the city center of Utrecht, Netherlands
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Hikone Castle moat
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Forbidden City moat
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Landskrona Citadel with mid 15th-century dual moat construction
See also
In Spanish: Foso para niños
