An ''angstloch'' (apparently "fear hole", but more probably from the Lat. ''angustus'' "narrow" and German ''Loch'' "hole") was a small hole in the floor of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

s and

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

es that led to a cellar or basement room below. The term is German and has no English equivalent, although a door, where there is one, to such a hole is called a

trapdoor A trapdoor is a sliding or hinged door in a floor or ceiling. It is traditionally small in size. It was invented to facilitate the hoisting of grain up through mills, however, its list of uses has grown over time. The trapdoor has played a pivot ...

(German: ''Falltür'').

An ''angstloch'' is usually located above the basement of a fighting tower or ''

Bergfried ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under Germ ...

''. The description of these basement rooms as "

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

s" stems from the romanticised castle studies of the 19th century. There is no evidence to indicate that prisoners were actually lowered through the ''angstloch'' into the dungeon using a rope or

rope ladder A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly c ...

as these 19th century accounts suggest. Archaeological finds, by contrast, indicate the use of these basement spaces as store rooms. For example, piles of stones have been found in such rooms that suggest they were used as a store for projectiles to be used in time of

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

Literature

Günther Binding Günther Binding (born 6 March 1936) is a German art historian and retired professor of art history and urban conservation at the University of Cologne. Life Born in Koblenz, Binding, brother of the later sculptor Wolfgang Binding and uncle of ...

: ''Architektonische Formenlehre.'' Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 1987, , (). * Alois Brandstetter: ''Die Burg.'' Residenz Verlag, 1986, , p. 293 (). * Otto Piper: ''Abriss der Burgenkunde.'' Göschen Collection, Volume 119. G. J. Göschen, 1900, pp. 47ff. (). * Otto Piper: ''Burgenkunde.'' Weidlich, 1967, p. 664 ({{Google books, tEM3AQAAIAAJ, , page=664). Medieval architecture Castle architecture German words and phrases Words and phrases with no direct English translation