Shell keep

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A Shell keep is a style of medieval fortification, best described as a stone structure circling the top of a motte.

In English castle morphology, shell keeps are perceived as the successors to motte-and-bailey castles, with the traditional wooden structure replaced by stone, in an effort to fire-proof.

The Norman preoccupation with fire can still be seen in English today in the etymology of the word curfew.

In c1100, some lords chose, rather than build big massive stone keeps, to replace the wooden fence with a stone wall which was called a curtain.

All the buildings stood against the curtain. This type of castles were called a shell keep.