Moat
Defensive ditch surrounding a fortification or town
Summary
A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices. In older fortifications, such as hillforts, they are usually referred to simply as ditches, although the function is similar. In later periods, moats or water defences may be largely ornamental. They could also act as a sewer.
Originally created by 128.211.230.144
12/2/2002, 9:19:22 AM
Modified
3/6/2026, 3:42:29 PM
Recent revisions
Added picture
Sources added to North America section
/* Anti-terrorist moats */ add photo
Added location
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cs1 errors ([[Category:CS1 errors: generic name|generic names]])
/* Asia */
/* Border defence moats */ ,
/* Anti-terrorist moats */ c/e
/* Asia */ use {{nihingo3}} properly
/* Africa */ <blockquote>
/* Medieval */ punctuation
[[MOS:CONVERT]]
Undid revision [[Special:Diff/1249058560|1249058560]] by [[Special:Contributions/72.201.46.91|72.201.46.91]] ([[User talk:72.201.46.91|talk]])
/* Ancient */ castle isn't really the right word, and Buhen's article calls it a settlement that contained a fortress.
ce
Reverting edit(s) by [[Special:Contributions/173.163.10.29|173.163.10.29]] ([[User_talk:173.163.10.29|talk]]) to rev. 1203890111 by EmperorOfTheUS: Vandalism ([[w:en:WP:UV|UV 0.1.5]])
