Moat Cailin
An ancient ruin held by the North — the gate that guards the Neck
- Region
- The Neck, the North
- Raised by
- The First Men, in the Dawn of Days
- Age
- Older than the kingdoms, and three towers from twenty
The stones themselves
Moat Cailin was once a great stronghold of twenty towers guarding the only causeway through the swamps and bogs of the Neck; now only three cracked towers still stand — the Gatehouse Tower, the Drunkard's Tower leaning drunkenly, and the black basalt Children's Tower. But even ruined it is nearly impregnable from the south, for an army must come at it single-file along a raised causeway, through fever, quicksand, lizard-lions, and the poisoned arrows of the crannogmen. It has never fallen to a southern host, and the North has good cause to be grateful for it.
Famous halls and features
The Children's Tower
A tower of black basalt, named for the belief that the children of the forest once called down the Hammer of the Waters here to break the land and drown the invading First Men.
The causeway
The single raised road through the bogs of the Neck, so narrow that an army must cross it strung out and helpless — the reason a ruin can still guard a kingdom.
The crannogmen
The bog-dwellers of the Neck, House Reed and their kin, who harry any invader from the reeds with net, spear, and poisoned arrow.
Sieges and history
Where the story of Moat Cailin touches the great chronicle of the realm — follow each thread back into the timeline.
A legend of Moat Cailin
The ironborn and the First Men both tell that it was here the children of the forest called down the Hammer of the Waters, shattering the land into the bogs of the Neck to halt the First Men's advance — and that they failed, for the First Men crossed anyway and raised Moat Cailin from the wreckage. Whether the green men truly cracked the world or the Neck was always a swamp, the maesters cannot say; but the bogs are real, and no southern army has ever come through them whole.
Beyond the chronicle's edge
Who lately holds the Moat, and how it was taken, awaits readers deeper in the war of the five kings.
These partings name deaths, endings, and roads not yet ridden in the books. Unveil them only if both roads are known to you — or if you do not fear to know.
Common questions
Why is Moat Cailin important to the North?
Moat Cailin guards the causeway — the only land route through the swamps of the Neck into the North. Even as a ruin it is nearly impossible to take from the south, making it the ancient shield that has kept southern armies out of the North.
Has Moat Cailin ever been taken from the south?
In the recorded histories, no southern army has ever taken Moat Cailin by assault from the south. The narrow causeway, the deadly bogs of the Neck, and the crannogmen's ambushes have defeated every attempt.
Who built Moat Cailin?
Moat Cailin was raised by the First Men in the Dawn of Days as a stronghold of twenty towers. Only three cracked towers remain standing today, but the fortress still commands the causeway through the Neck.
What is the Hammer of the Waters?
The Hammer of the Waters is a legendary act of magic attributed to the children of the forest, said to have shattered the land to create the swamps of the Neck (and, in other tales, to break the Arm of Dorne) in an effort to stop the First Men.