murder holes
Defensive ceiling openings
Murder holes are openings in the ceiling of a castle gatehouse or passage through which defenders could attack intruders below—dropping boiling liquids, stones, or firing arrows at enemies trapped in the confined space.
The term now appears in military and gaming contexts for any overhead defensive position: The bunker's murder holes covered the entire approach.
Vertical sliding castle gate
- battlementsNotched defensive wall top
- arrow slitsNarrow openings for archers
- parapetLow wall at edge
- embrasureFortified wall opening
loophole · gatehouse · barbican · crenelation · drawbridge · stone floor · gallery · passage
Fortified medieval residence
- fortressHeavily defended military structure
- keepRetain or fortified tower
- strongholdFortified place of defense
- crusadesAggressive advocacy campaigns
knights · defenders · garrison · warfare · fortification · feudal · citadel · donjon
Heated fat for warfare
- scalding waterExtremely hot H2O
- molten leadLiquefied heavy metallic element
- projectilesObjects forcefully launched
- droppingLetting something fall
pouring · crossfire · repel · attackers · invaders · hot sand · quicklime · arrows
Those surrounding a fortification
- assaultViolent offensive act
- breachBreaking of agreement
- battering ramHeavy beam for breaching
- stormingAttacking with force
gateway · entry point · chokepoint · bottleneck · ambush · trapped · funneling · last resort
portcullis
Vertical sliding castle gate
- battlementsNotched defensive wall top
- arrow slitsNarrow openings for archers
- parapetLow wall at edge
embrasure · loophole · gatehouse · barbican · crenelation · drawbridge · stone floor · gallery · passage · chute
castle
Fortified medieval residence
- fortressHeavily defended military structure
- keepRetain or fortified tower
- strongholdFortified place of defense
crusades · knights · defenders · garrison · warfare · fortification · feudal · citadel · donjon · curtain wall
boiling oil
Heated fat for warfare
- scalding waterExtremely hot H2O
- molten leadLiquefied heavy metallic element
- projectilesObjects forcefully launched
dropping · pouring · crossfire · repel · attackers · invaders · hot sand · quicklime · arrows · rocks
besiegers
Those surrounding a fortification
- assaultViolent offensive act
- breachBreaking of agreement
- battering ramHeavy beam for breaching
storming · gateway · entry point · chokepoint · bottleneck · ambush · trapped · funneling · last resort · escalade
- castleskeep, moat, drawbridge, dungeon, turret
- medieval warfareknights, siege warfare, castle, castle siege, siege
- castlekeep, moat, drawbridge, battlements, dungeon
- castle partsmoat, keep, drawbridge, battlement, tower
- fortificationsfort, fortress, fortresses, citadel, citadels
- fortressfortress, citadel, fort, stronghold, keep
murder holessally port
Fortification's controlled entryway
siege tower · welcome mat · grand entrance · battering ram · arrow slits
murder holesgate
Hinged barrier in fence
drawbridge · main entrance · portcullis · arrow slits · breach