Montezuma’s Castle

Montezuma Castle National Monument

Montezuma Castle National Monument protects a well-preserved cliff dwelling located in Camp Verde, Arizona. The National Monument also protects and preserves the Castle A site, a contemporaneous dwelling site located near the cliff dwelling. The construction of the Montezuma Castle and Castle A sites are both attributed to the Southern Sinagua people, a pre-Columbian archaeological culture that may be closely related to several ancestral indigenous peoples of the southwestern United States. Archaeological evidence suggests that the dwelling was constructed as early as 1125 AD and occupied until as late as 1395 AD.

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars usually consider a castle to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a mansion, palace, and villa, whose main purpose was exclusively for pleasance and are not primarily fortresses but may be fortified. Use of the term has varied over time and, sometimes, has also been applied to structures such as hill forts and 19th- and 20th-century homes built to resemble castles. Over the Middle Ages, when genuine castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls, arrowslits, and portcullises, were commonplace.

castle

Noun

1. A large residential building or compound that is fortified and contains many defences; in previous ages often inhabited by a nobleman or king. Also, a house or mansion with some of the architectural features of medieval castles.
2. An instance of castling.

Verb

1. To house or keep in a castle.
2. To protect or separate in a similar way.