Castle Storage. The large cellar at the base of the castle keep contained everything necessary to supply a fortified village under siege, including grain, dried foodstuffs, military supplies, and cloth. Because it was half underground, the cellar provided cool storage that helped to preserve foodstuffs. Since access to the cellar was by the same external stairwell that provided access to the next floor of the keep, the castle had to be in grave danger before the supplies in the cellar became unavailable to defenders, and by that time, anyway, the supplies would probably be close to, if not totally, exhausted. Later in the Middle Ages, goods were also stored in structures all around the castle yard, next to where they were most needed. Hay was kept near the stables, weapons caches were at the towers, and iron...