Palisade and Moat

A palisade is a Medieval wooden fence or wall of variable height, used as a defensive structure. Image File history File links en:: Description: near Saalburg, Palisade and Moat Author: Markus Schweiß, Foto taken himself, upload to German wikipedia 17. ... Image File history File links en:: Description: near Saalburg, Palisade and Moat Author: Markus Schweiß, Foto taken himself, upload to German wikipedia 17. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... A fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary. ...

Typical construction was to use small and medium trunks of trees aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks would be driven into the ground, and may or may not be reinforced with additional construction. Height of the palisade ranged from a few feet like a fence, to ten feet or more. As a defensive structure, palisades were often used in conjunction with earthworks.

Palisades were an excellent option for small forts or other quickly-built fortifications. Since they were wood, they could be quickly and easily built with material (wood) that was readily available. They proved to be effective protection for short-term conflicts, and deterrents to small forces. However, due to their nature, they were very susceptible to fire and siege weapons. Stone walls were generally preferred to wooden palisades.

Often, a palisade would be constructed around castles as a temporary wall until a permanent stone wall could be created. The Alcázar of Segovia, Spain A castle (from the Latin castellum, diminutive of castra, a military camp, in turn the plural of castrum or watchpost), is a fort, a camp and the logical development of a fortified enclosure. ...