Fortifications

The donjons
    
     Enceintes and mottes

The enceintes, basic elements of western military installations, are connected by turrets. Either circular or oval, or more rarely irregular polygonal, these are of various type and periods. The large enclosures sometimes represent the reuse in the Middle Ages of older settlements. Inside the enceintes a smaller wall was often erected to protect a tower. At this stage of the research we still do not have sufficient data to enable us to identify any settlement models, just as it is not possible to define the characteristics of earth works. The presence of mottes can be hypothesised on the basis of some toponyms, but it must be observed that the morphology of the Molisian territory makes artificial embankments unnecessary, and it is probable that the original mottes were incorporated in later fortifications.