Half Tower

By Crusader1307

Roughly developed in various Countries between the 14th  thru 16th Centuries, Half-Towers were fortified stone defensive towers. They featured a open enceinte (normally as part of the primary perimeter wall defense), and were lightly constructed. Normally part of the City wall defenses (as opposed to the main castle) – the open upper area platform was used to observe and to some extent, fire weapons at an approaching enemy. Ideally better suited to provide harassment to siege engines, their obvious drawback was protection to the defenders. Often made semi-circular in construction, some examples exist that were rectangular. Half-Towers were popular for a period in many Germanic Countries.