1. Location: Castles were typically built on high ground or other naturally defensive locations, making them difficult to attack.
2. Strong Walls: Castle walls were often thick and made of stone, making them difficult to breach.
3. Towers: Towers provided a strategic advantage in both defense and offense, allowing defenders to see the enemy and launch attacks from above.
4. Gates: Castle gates were heavily fortified and often had multiple layers of defense, including portcullises and drawbridges.
5. Moats: Moats filled with water or other obstacles further hindered the enemy's progress.
6. Battlements: These provided a defensible position for archers and other ranged troops, allowing them to fire down on attackers at the base of the walls.
7. Keeps: The innermost and strongest part of the castle, the keep provided a final refuge for the defenders and was often the last to fall.
8. Arrow Loops: Narrow slits in the walls through which defenders could shoot arrows at the enemy.
9. Murder Holes: Holes in the ceiling or floor through which boiling oil or other substances could be dropped on attackers.
10. Portcullises: Heavy, spiked gates that could be lowered to block the main entrance.
11. Drawbridges: Wooden bridges that could be raised to cut off access to the castle.
12. Secret Passages: Hidden tunnels that allowed the defenders to move around the castle without being seen by the enemy.
