Stirling Castle (20)
As I stated before, and as we will see more of shortly, the front (south) face of the castle, used to run along where the gatehouse with it's two flanking round tower stands.  While there were probably minor defences outside the gatehouse (aka &quot;forework&quot;) in medieval times, most of what lies outside the gatehouse these days was built starting in the 18th century, and was necessitated by bigger and better siege artillery.  By 1700, tall vertical walls were easily and quickly battered down by siege artillery, and to counter this threat, ramparts were built in front of the walls, capable (for a while anyway) of absorbing the energy of projectiles fired from big guns, and perhaps of greater importance, providing the space for the guns that would hopefully dismount the siege guns.

A major programme of defensive works was carried out between 1708 and 1714, by Theodore Dury, a renowned military engineer of his day.  In the gaps between walls and ramparts, ditches were built to impede assaulting infantry, the ditches being protected by transverse facing guns and the caponier I indicated previously.  

Inside the first gate, visible in the bottom right corner of the photo, is 'Guard Room Square' (the guard room now used as the ticket office), directly overlooked by three guns on the rampart above.  A second ditch has to be crossed to reach the inner gateway, the arch of which is topped with the cipher of Queen Anne (in whose reign it was built).  The ramparts are not completely solid, they contain massive stone vaults, known as casemates, that could be used as barracks or stores.

The main gateway like so much of the rest of the castle, has been modified considerably over the centuries.  King James IV is credited with building it, but what did it look like before c.1500?  In fact what did the castle as a whole look like before that time?  Well . . . .
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