Eagle Tower study cover photo - 12606843

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This is a view of the famous Eagle Tower at Caernarvon Castle in Wales, UK. Caernarvon was defended in two parts - the castle itself, and the town walls. Edward's strongest castles were concentric, providing optimal defensive capabilities, but the use of castle and town walls provided up to two lines of defence, with the benefit of an ostentatious appearance - essential when considering Caernarvon's intended purpose. However, it should not be assumed that Caernarvon was a weak castle - it's completed defences were formidable. The castle itself had two gateways defended by strong gatehouses; it also had seven towers lining it's walls (which themselves were up to twenty feet thick). As mentioned above, the north wall was initially absent, being defended by a ditch and the town itself; the second building phase saw this wall added, completed by the King's Gate. Begun in 1283 after Snowdonia - the heartland of Gwynedd - had been overrun by the massive army, it reached something like its current state in 1323. It was never completed, and even today there are joints visible in several places on the internal walls ready to accept further walls which were never built. Contemporary records note that the castle's construction cost some Â£22,000 â€“ an enormous sum at the time, equivalent to more than a year's income for the royal treasury. The castle's linear design is sophisticated by comparison with earlier British castles