Castles, Towers, and Fortifications

Lower the gates, raise the bridges, and man the wall because that’s what you do in a castle when the enemy’s-a-comin’!

Types of Castles and Fortifications

  • castle, motte and bailey, manor, hold, fortress, citadel, alcazar, acropolis, donjon,
  • keep, tower, wall, bastion, barrier,
  • fort, fortification, fieldwork, stronghold,
  • walled complex, enclosure, walled city,
  • prison, hold, jail, dungeon,
  • command post, headquarters, base, HQ, hub,
  • defensive position,
  • consulate, bureau, ministry, office, embassy,
  • legislature, government center, presidium, senate, cabinet, chair, seat,
  • palace, mansion, estate, palazzo, villa, estate,
  • presidency, command center, admiralty,
  • folly, folly building, facade,
  • armory, arsenal, depot, magazine,
  • heart, center,
  • quatrefoil, cruciform, symmetrical, asymmetrical,
  • embankment, earthwork,
  • bunker, hole, hold, quarters, billet,
  • camp, bivouac, enclosure, garrison, encampment,
  • factory, plant, depot, core,
  • outpost, observation post, watchtower,

Some Castle Parts

  • moat, ditch,
  • wall, barricade, mound, motte, hedge, earthwork, embankment, palisade,
  • parapet, battlement, merlon, mantlet, machicolation, bartizan, rampart, curtain wall,
  • list, stockade,
  • gate, gatehouse, portcullis, drawbridge, footbridge, barbican, postern,
  • keep, tower, chemise, flanking tower, pinnacle, corbel, watch tower, turret, bastion, stair turret, demi-bastion,
  • hornwork, ravelin, crownwork, outwork, lunette, demi-lune, redan, gorge,
  • greathall, banquet hall,
  • prison tower, mill tower, mural tower,
  • embrasure, arrow slit, murder hole, gap, mantlet,
  • forebuilding,
  • hearth, oven, furnace, kitchen, cookhouse, smokehouse,
  • brattice, brace, buttress, flying buttress, corbel, arch,
  • courtyard, bailey, castellum, outer bailey, ward,
  • colonnade, arcade, gallery, cloister, loggia, covered walk,
  • outbuilding, shed,
  • stable,
  • balcony, prominence, deck,
  • tower, minaret, spire, oriel,
  • chapel, temple, sanctuary,
  • garden,
  • stairs,
  • dungeon, basement, cellar, storeroom, crypt, tomb,
  • window, opening, stained glass window, etched window, decorative window, oriel window,
  • vent,

Castle Environments

  • hills, mottes, earthworks, mounds, high ground,
  • ridge, mountainside, mountain peak, cliff, bluff,
  • island in river, waterfall,
  • bay, inlet, delta, river confluence,
  • crossroads, trade routes, “silk roads,” pehonan,