How hilltop fortresses secured water

Forts and castles were sometimes built on high ground even when water was difficult to reach, because the position itself remained strategically necessary. A well could solve the problem where geology allowed it, while British and later American fortifications also used piping routes and shallow trenches to move water uphill. Storage inside the works was equally important because a supply line could fail during a siege. The enormous water-storage rooms found in some Crusader castles show how seriously designers treated endurance. Roman forts likewise tended to include robust water-supply arrangements. These systems made a strong position habitable rather than merely imposing.