Kisimul Castle (7)
I have described the outside of the castle, but not the inside, so here goes! The keep had (but no longer has) a vaulted cellar with an external door, the only internal communication to and from which, must have been a trap-door in the ceiling. Above this was a room that Tranter describes as a sleeping room for the garrison, above which again was the laird's apartment on the 3rd floor, reached by the outside stair. From the laird's apartment, a narrow mural stair led down to the barrack room and another led up to the battlements - an inconvenient arrangement every time the guard changed during the night!
Both this room and the room below it were divided by an internal loft, which was probably used as a sleeping platform.
The parapet wall is unusual because it appears to be almost impossible to see over it! There are two crenels (the 'windows' in a battlement) on the east side (which faces the courtyard), one on the north side, and none on the sides shown here - the west and south sides. I don't know exactly how high the parapet wall is, but based on where the drainage holes at its base are, it would appear to be at least head height. The two crenels on the east side are high enough to have lintels over them.
Kisimul Castle (7)
I have described the outside of the castle, but not the inside, so here goes! The keep had (but no longer has) a vaulted cellar with an external door, the only internal communication to and from which, must have been a trap-door in the ceiling. Above this was a room that Tranter describes as a sleeping room for the garrison, above which again was the laird's apartment on the 3rd floor, reached by the outside stair. From the laird's apartment, a narrow mural stair led down to the barrack room and another led up to the battlements - an inconvenient arrangement every time the guard changed during the night!
Both this room and the room below it were divided by an internal loft, which was probably used as a sleeping platform.
The parapet wall is unusual because it appears to be almost impossible to see over it! There are two crenels (the 'windows' in a battlement) on the east side (which faces the courtyard), one on the north side, and none on the sides shown here - the west and south sides. I don't know exactly how high the parapet wall is, but based on where the drainage holes at its base are, it would appear to be at least head height. The two crenels on the east side are high enough to have lintels over them.