Moat
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A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some place
Moat at Beaumaris Castle, Wales
North view of the fortress of Buhen in Ancient Egypt.
A medieval moat castle in Steinfurt, Germany
The 17th-century fortified town of Naarden, Netherlands, showing bastions projecting into the wet moat
Ha-ha
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A ha-ha, also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall, or foss, is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier while preserving an uninterrupted view of
Moat
…at his Tierpark in Hamburg, Germany. The structure, with a vertical outer retaining wall rising direct from the moat, is an extended usage of the ha-ha of English landscape gardening. In 2004, plans were suggested for a two-mile moat across the southern border of the Gaza Strip to prevent tunnelling…
Comparison of a ha-ha (top) and a regular wall (bottom). Both walls prevent access, but one does not block the view looking outward.
A wall with a ha-ha opening at the Hameau de la Reine, Versailles
Ha-ha protecting the lawn at Hopetoun House, West Lothian, Scotland. Note how the wall disappears from view as it curves away to the left of the photograph.
Ha-ha and south face of Parham Park, West Sussex, England