Battles of this age were of two kinds – those fought in the open and those fought around a fort under siege. The Maduraikanci gives a vivid picture of the sophisticated defence mechanism that was in place to protect the fort of Madurai during siege warfare. There were four gates to the fort surmounted by high towers, with massive walls built of rough-hewn stone. Surrounding the fort on its outside was a deep moat and around the moat was a thick jungle of thorny trees. The roads leading to the gates of the fort were wide enough to permit several elephants to pass abreast. There were all kinds of weapons and missiles concealed on the walls on both the sides of the entrance, ready to be discharged on an enemy. Many curious engines were mounted on the battlements to shoot arrows or to fling stones on those that besiege them. There were machines like the fishing rod and angle to catch and drag up those that approach the wall and machines like iron fingers to seize and tear them to pieces. There were also furnaces from which hot oil and molten metal might be poured on those that attempt to scale the wall and iron spokes and spears to shove down those that might succeed in mounting the ramparts. While besieging a fort, the method adopted by the invading army was to first cut open a wide passage through the jungle around the fort, then fill up the moat to enable the army to approach the walls and finally scale the wall with ladders or break open the gates with the help of elephants trained to do the work.