Uploader's Comments

Though referred to as a barbican, the structure to the right cannot have functioned as such since (a) there is nothing between the round towers and the wall except three flying buttresses and (b) there is no sign of any support on which the drawbridge could rest. The HS reconstruction plaque shows a timber ramp leading straight up to the gate and drawbridge. Historic Environment Scotland's "Statement of Significance" suggests that the towers were simply a decorative screen to conceal the buttresses inserted in James IV's time because of doubts about the stability of this corner of the palace.