Page 49 - British Museum: SYTYGIB Medieval Castle

The emptying of the loo into the moat was another form of defence in a way – who wants to swim across tHaT? Moats could be as much as 9 metres deep (which is about the length of six 10-year-olds standing on top of each other), so the only way across was a drawbridge, which could be lifted up when the castle was under attack. They could be filled with smelly water or sharpened sticks if they were dry, so for attackers it was a choice between stinky drowning or being pronged to death. Or running away (we choose that option).
Which sounds like an EXCeLlEnT point to stop talking about this and move on.
49
Doyoueverwish . . .
you could give in to your mischievous streak while
at the beach and suddenly jump all over your sister
or brother’s magnificent sandcastle that they’ve spent literally 10 HOURS building?
Never mind jumping – that’s sO low-key. What you need are some medieval siege weapons.
These giant objects were built to destroy thick castle walls and doors, allowing attackers to capture the building and end the siege.
One of the biggest weapons was called the trebuchet. It was an enormous slingshot – so big that you’d probably need at least two of your pals to help you work it. Actually, it took a whopping 60 men to load and fire it, allowing it to hurl huge boulders and barrels of flaming tar the distance of three football pitches.
A smaller catapult-style device was the mangonel, which fired big rocks over 180 metres, smashing stone and wood to pieces.
The battering ram wasn’t an angry sheep, it was an iron-tipped tree trunk on wheels that was crashed against walls and doors to break them down.
The coolest-sounding siege weapon was the ballista, which was a giant crossbow that fired massive arrows at defending soldiers.
We say cool, but it definitely wasn’t cool if you were on the receiving end and became part of a soldier kebab.
And no, you can’t take one to the beach to use on sandcastles.
Battles and Sieges