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A ringwork is a form of fortified 
A survey published in 1969 identified 198 ringwork castles in England and Wales, with a further 50 sites that were considered to possibly be ringworks. D. J. Cathcart King and Leslie Alcock proposed the following classification of ringworks based on their surviving remains:
*A – a bank and ditch encircling the site
*B – a bank and ditch encircling the site, with an artificially raising interior
*Bb – a bank and ditch encircling the site on a natural hillock, where the ground surface slopes so that the interior is higher than the exterior
*C – a bank on one side with sloping ground on the other
*D – a bank on one side with sloping ground on the other combined with a ditch and an artificially raised interior
*Dd – a bank on one side with sloping ground on the other combined with a ditch and the interior raised by a natural hillock
A ringwork is a form of fortified defensive
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense indust ...
structure, usually circular or oval
An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas of mathematics (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.), it is given a more precise definition, which may inc ...
in shape. Ringworks are essentially motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively eas ...
castles without the motte
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...
. Defences were usually earthworks in the form of a ditch
A ditch is a small to moderate trench created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ...
and bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
surrounding the site.
Ringworks originated in Germany in the 10th century as an early form of medieval castle and at first were little more than a fortified manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
. They appeared in England just prior to the Norman conquest and large numbers were built during the late 11th and early 12th centuries. More elaborate versions (such as Stansted Mountfitchet Castle) comprise a ringwork and bailey, the ringwork replacing the more usual motte and the bailey acting as a military stronghold.
A survey published in 1969 identified 198 ringwork castles in England and Wales, with a further 50 sites that were considered to possibly be ringworks. D. J. Cathcart King and Leslie Alcock proposed the following classification of ringworks based on their surviving remains:
*A – a bank and ditch encircling the site
*B – a bank and ditch encircling the site, with an artificially raising interior
*Bb – a bank and ditch encircling the site on a natural hillock, where the ground surface slopes so that the interior is higher than the exterior
*C – a bank on one side with sloping ground on the other
*D – a bank on one side with sloping ground on the other combined with a ditch and an artificially raised interior
*Dd – a bank on one side with sloping ground on the other combined with a ditch and the interior raised by a natural hillock
See also
* *References
Castles by type {{Europe-archaeology-stub