# Exterior view [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [ARCHITECT, French]() - Date: 1151-1200 - Technique: Photo ## Commentary Until the end of the first millennium, secular buildings \(residential and domestic quarters\) seem to have been built exclusively from non-durable materials \(conical mounds of earth, wood\). Around the year 1000, wood was increasingly replaced by stone for the construction of residential towers. The keep \(freestanding defence tower in a castle complex\) became not only a fortified building but also a symbol of power. The Tour César in Provins is a keep with octagonal ground plan and four semi-circular towers. It was protected by walls and moats and the motte meant that it was raised far above the level of any attackers. However, the style of construction of the latter must surely also had something to do with the desire of prestige. ## Related artworks - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Bird's eye view]() - [Burial lantern]() - [Castle]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()