Castle Defenses: Slopes, Stone Balls, Horse Grips, and Hot Liquids

The claim that heavy stone balls would be used against enemies is supported by Reference 1, which states that "large stones could be dropped from the machicolations down the outer wall of the tower." The claim that hot oil or hot water would be poured into channels if an enemy enters is also supported by Reference 1, which mentions "hot water on attackers" and "scalding water, hot sand, and sometimes quick lime, burning oil" being dropped through murder holes. Reference 2 also mentions "possibly hot oil to be dropped onto attackers below." However, the claim that "the gate is 70 feet slope" is not supported by the provided context.

Reference 6 mentions an overflow ice situation swelling to "70 feet wide," but this is unrelated to castle architecture. The claim that "a grip is designed for horses to prevent slipping" is also not supported by the provided context.

Reference 3 discusses horses in the context of yielding trails and not disturbing them, but not about grips for preventing slipping in a castle setting. [1][2][3]