Murder hole
A murder hole or meurtrière is a hole in the ceiling of a gateway or passageway in a fortification through which the defenders could shoot, throw or pour harmful substances or objects such as rocks, arrows, scalding water, hot sand,
Murder holes and machicolations
Similar holes, called
Location
In tower houses, often considered aetiologically to be small castles, the most common location for these features is located over the lobby, the effective equivalent of locating them over a gatehouse in a true castle. It bears note that most, if not all, murder holes have only a restricted view of the lobbies below, supporting the idea that other uses may have been common.[citation needed] However, murder holes have been described in a variety of areas within fortified buildings, and there is no completely reliable formula for their placement. The murder hole in Tully Castle, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland is located in the central portion of the first floor of the house, west of a cross-wall and piercing the vault of the lower chamber.[2][3]
See also
References
- ^ Atzbach, Rainer (2015). "Castles at War" (PDF). The Danish Castle Research Association: 120–130.
- JSTOR 20567540.
- ^ "The Murder Hole at Tully". TripAdvisor.