Oubliette
OUBLIETTE, a French architectural term (from oublier, to forget), used in two senses of a dungeon or cell in a prison or castle which could only be reached by a trap-door from another dungeon, and of a concealed opening or passage leading from a dungeon to the moat or river, into which bodies of prisoners who (were to be secretly disposed of might be dropped. Viollet le Due (Diet, de l' architecture) gives a diagram of such an oubliette at the castle of Pierrefonds, France. Many so-called " oubliettes " in medieval castles were probably outlets for the disposal of drainage, refuse, etc., which at times may have served for the getting rid of prisoners.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
