Ep 2. Defending The Castle

In this episode of Secrets of the Castle, titled 'Defending The Castle,' the 21st-century team of historians, archaeologists, and builders continues their journey to complete a castle using only medieval techniques, materials, and tools. In episode 2, they focus on fortifying the castle walls and developing a defense system to protect it from enemy attacks.

The team faces several challenges in their quest to build a functional castle with authentic medieval features. They have to adapt to the limited technology and techniques that people used to build castles in the Middle Ages. Additionally, they have to ensure that the castle is structurally safe and that it can cope with the harsh elements of the environment.

The episode opens with the team discussing how they will create a perimeter of defenses around the castle walls. They decide to use wooden palisades, an age-old method of defense. A palisade is a fence made by driving wooden stakes into the ground, and this proves to be an effective way of preventing enemies from scaling the walls. The team also sets up a drawbridge to control who can enter the castle.

The next challenge is to make sure the castle's walls can withstand the force of a battering ram, a frequent tool used in the siege of castles. The team experiments with different methods to strengthen the walls, including erecting buttresses, adding additional layers of stone, and sloping the walls. Later in the episode, the team designs various types of chimneys for the castle's kitchen to keep smoke away from the living quarters and to avoid detection by the enemy.

In building a fortified wall that could stand the test of time, the team encounters different approaches and techniques of creating a defense wall. They learn about a technique by which stones are placed horizontally in between two walls, creating a strong bond strong enough to prevent battering rams from breaking through the wall. They also use the "feather and groove" technique where long stones are fitted together, adding to the wall's stability.

At the end of the episode, the team tests the newly built defenses by attempting to breach the walls and gate using a battering ram. It is a nail-biting moment as we see whether their efforts to build a functional castle have been successful or not. Will their defense system hold up to the pressure?

This episode of Secrets of the Castle reveals the significant challenges faced by medieval architects and engineers in building a fortress that could withstand enemy attacks. The team continues to provide fascinating insights into the techniques and technologies used in the Middle Ages and how they compare with modern building techniques. The team demonstrates their skills and ingenuity in building a structure that merges the ancient art of castle-building with modern-day thinking.

Overall, this episode of Secrets of the Castle is engaging, informative, and highly entertaining, providing an in-depth look into the intricate and fascinating world of medieval castle building.