Being aware of the currently popular post-modernist doubt about the possibility of reconstructing past reality, I will still make an attempt at describing the knightly manor house, as it appears to archaeologists. Even with the assumption that: …one can study only what one has dreamed about, I hope that it will be a useful attempt to summarize years of effort from many Polish researchers, as so far there has been no comprehensive compilation.

Concepts that connect motte-and-bailey residences with a country's defence policy are becoming less frequent in literature. Many authors have already written about the lack of actual military advantage of such facilities. Of course one cannot generalize here. A small mound surrounded by a shallow moat in the middle of a meadow had quite different possibilities of defence compared to a manor house located on the tip of a promontory in an upland region, where on the one hand, natural steep slopes were rising up above the height of ten meters, and on the other hand, access was prevented by a deep ditch and / or rampart. The defensive advantage of the former, surrounded by marshes and a moat that was probably drying up periodically, depended to a large extent on the season of the year. Access to the residence built on the mound was much easier in winter, when the swamp was frozen, or during a dry summer. Then, in addition to their own courage, the residents were defended by a palisade, or as is apparent from this study, more frequently by a solid fence. In the light of these remarks, one observation seems to be very interesting, namely the term ‘manor house’ or ‘castle’ is used most frequently in relation to residences located on elevations or high promontories, and quite sporadically when referring to typical lowland motte-and-bailey settlements.

Some authors also pointed to the fact that the choice of location for the family hearth itself may indicate the different approach of individual founders to the issue of defence. Sometimes the seat is clearly visible from a distance - towering over the area, which demonstrates the aspirations of the owner. In other cases, the manor house seems to be almost hidden from unwanted visitors to avoid verification of its defensive potential.