Hoarding/Background

Enhancing the capabilities of ranged defenders has been a primary objective for almost every medieval castle in case of a siege. Initially, holes called arrowslits were drilled in segmented walls and towers, from where an archer could fire with a limited line of fire at an advanced position. These were however harder to improve upon when the need for additional protected battlements arose, for which hoardings provided the answer.
Hoardings are easily attached wooden installments that can be placed on and over a tower without a rooftop. These were created of elongated wooden panels and support beams with designated arrowslits, which provided sufficient protection against enemy fire, while also granting a little bit larger visibility to defenders behind. Despite being not resilient against larger projectiles like rocks, the hoarding proved to be a cheaper makeshift alternative to costly masonryworks.