De bedreiging van kasteelcomplexen met een meervoudige ronde omgrachting

Samenvatting

Castle complexes with multiple concentric moats. Traditional castle research in the Netherlands has mainly focused on the ward. Curiously, several castles have wards surrounded by multiple concentric moats. Most of these moat systems were discovered due to their visibility on aerial photographs or historical maps. However, some of these sites were accidentally discovered. The major aim of this research was to list all Dutch castle sites that are surrounded by a concentric moat system and to investigate whether this phenomenon can be linked to any historical, geographical or archaeological features. It can be concluded that moat systems were constructed between the 12th and 14th century. To increase knowledge about the castle complexes, additional research questions are called for in the future, such as: should we change our approach in current archaeological research of castles?