Editing Wall (section)

===Defenses===
[[File:The Wall top warming shed .jpg|thumb|350px|left|Warming shed on top of the Wall, from ''[[Game of Thrones]]'' Blu-ray]]
The [[builders]] of the Night's Watch permit the forest to come no closer than half a mile to the Wall.{{Ref|AGOT|21}}{{Ref|AGOT|41}} However, over time forest has crept back closer to abandoned castles.{{Ref|AGOT|21}} [[Rangers]] patrol the lands [[beyond the Wall]].{{Ref|AGOT|41}} Rangers and builders patrol the Wall on sure-footed [[mule]]s bred at [[Eastwatch-by-the-Sea]].{{ref|ASOS|26}}

The top of the wall is studded with catapults, cranes,{{Ref|AGOT|19}} [[trebuchet]]s,{{Ref|ASOS|64}} and [[scorpion (weapon)|scorpions]],{{Ref|ASOS|64}} but they are immobile.{{Ref|ASOS|64}} Additionally, some catapults and trebuchets have been dismantled for repair and never reassembled after being frozen in ice.{{Ref|AGOT|21}} The Night's Watch can reach the top of the Wall from the southern side via ramps of earth and gravel,{{Ref|ASOS|56}} winch-drawn cages,{{Ref|AGOT|21}} and steps of ice, stone, or wood.{{Ref|ASOS|56}} 

The twisting tunnel through the Wall at [[Castle Black]] is secured by a thick oaken door and three grates with heavy iron bars, massive chains that must be unlocked, and murder holes,{{Ref|AGOT|48}}{{Ref|ASOS|64}} while the gate at the [[Nightfort]] had an iron portcullis.{{Ref|ASOS|56}} All tunnels have been sealed except for those at Castle Black, Eastwatch, and the [[Shadow Tower]], however.{{Ref|ASOS|56}}

The galleys of Eastwatch patrol the [[Bay of Seals]] in part to catch smugglers who bypass the Wall through the sea and trade weapons to [[wildlings]].{{Ref|aSoS|54}} In the west the southern [[Frostfangs]] and the [[Gorge]] make the terrain impassable for all but small groups of raiders.<ref>[[So Spake Martin]]: [https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/Many_Questions1/ Many Questions (December 28, 1998)]</ref>

[[File:Wall IceGate by Kim Pope.jpg|thumb|350px|Tunnel through the Wall, barred by heavy iron bars, by Kim Pope for ''[[Game of Thrones]]'']]
The Wall provides a tremendous tactical advantage to its defenders, enabling a small group to hold off a much larger force. Defenders are generally beyond the range of bow shot or catapult and in turn rely on archery, catapult, and dropped objects to deter an assault. In particular, barrels containing rocks frozen in ice are effective in dispersing a mass charge.{{Ref|aSoS|64}} 

Attackers must rely on one of two tactics: a direct assault on one of the few well-defended gates, or scaling the Wall in small groups and attacking a gate from the rear. The gates have been designed with features such as murder holes and limited access that make them difficult to force.{{Ref|ASOS|64}} In an extreme case, gates can be filled with rock and ice, thus becoming as impervious as any other part of the wall.{{Ref|ADWD|17}}

Scaling the Wall involves similar difficulties. [[Wildlings]] climb the northern side of the Wall with hempen rope, stone hammers, ice axes, and spiked boots.{{Ref|ASOS|30}} A team of determined climbers can reach the top, but only if undetected by defenders, who can easily knock them off with dropped objects or archery. The Wall is thought to "defend itself", disgorging sheets of its own ice.{{Ref|ASOS|30}}

Wildlings believe that the hundreds of caves north of the Wall all connect, and that [[Gorne's Way]] is a subterranean passage which runs underneath the structure.{{Ref|ASOS|26}}