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Moats were dug around castles and towns to provide additional defense. Early versions were dry trenches, later filled with water. Drawbridges weren’t common until the late Middle Ages. Moats were also used in Japan, China, and by Native American tribes. Today, moats are still used in warfare and zoos.
Most are familiar with the sight of a moat, traditionally dug around castles and often filled with water. When the moat was first used it was intended to provide additional defense for castles, towns or large groups of people. A water-filled moat made it extremely difficult to storm a castle and/or access a fortress wall. Attacking armies could not simply scale the walls and attempt to tear them down, for the moat proved to be a formidable obstacle. Additionally, attempts to fill in the ditch or provide a crossing were often met with a volley of arrows, to discourage such attempts.
During the Early Middle Ages, a moat might not be filled with water. It was still a trench deep enough to make it difficult for attackers to breach the walls of a building. An unfilled moat is a dry moat. Later, most of the ditches were filled with water. However, they weren’t, as some suppose, full of alligators or sharks. It would have been virtually impossible to keep the sharks alive in moat conditions; it is very difficult to get them to live even in today’s aquariums. Keeping alligators would also prove impractical.
Most early versions of the moat did not have drawbridges, as is often assumed. They had decks that could be removed easily as an enemy approached. In most cases, drawbridges weren’t employed until the late Middle Ages.
Although we commonly think of the moat in association with European castles, medieval Japan and China had massive moat systems guarding cities and castles. Some Japanese cities would have not one but several moats. Some buildings could be built between some of the moats, but vital parts of the city could be protected by as many as three moats. Sometimes these ditches were the dry ditch variety. A few moats remain today, such as the one surrounding the Japanese Imperial Palace.
Some Native American tribes also built ditches around central housing areas, at least in the 16th century. These provided some protection against raiding tribes or Europeans. However, the introduction of the shotgun among the American Indians rendered some ditches useless, unless they were very wide.
Trenches dug during many wars work on the main of the moat, although these are dry moats. Even today, a military force can dig large trenches to slow down an enemy, make motor transport impossible, or to prevent tanks from crossing. A ditch or trench can also be a useful place to hide during long battles.
Moats are also often used in zoos to keep animals. These normally cover a large, unsurpassable distance and are quite deep. Fans of the Zoo Tycoon computer game know that digging a moat around dinosaurs is an excellent way to prevent large predators from escaping and eating scientists.
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