A burgstall is a German term referring to a castle of which so little is left that its appearance cannot effectively be reconstructed. It has no direct equivalent in English, but may be loosely translated as "castle site". Variations in the literature include Burgstelle, Altburgstelle, die Burgställe (plural), Burgstähl (archaic) or abgegangene Burg ("lost castle"). In German castle studies, a burgstall is a castle that has effectively been levelled, whereas a "ruin" (Ruine) still has recognisable remnants of the original castle above the level of the ground.