motte

Earth castle. It was a building on the top of an artificially created steep hill, which was surrounded by walls. It could be a house or a tower, which was usually built from wood. An outer farm yard was usually attached to it. In Western-Europe this type of a castle appeared in the 11th century, and gradually spread to the east. In Central-Europe it became popular in the 13th century, but they were built in the 15th century as well. Besides these, there are many small castles in Hungary, which were built on natural hills or moors. Their age is dubious, archeological findings do not prove that they were built before the 13th century.

BG