gabion

noun4

1. •
   A woven wire mesh unit, sometimes rectangular, made from a continuous mesh panel and filled with stones sometimes coated with polyvinyl chloride.
2. •
   A porous metal cylinder filled with stones and used in a variety of civil engineering contexts, especially in the construction of retaining walls, the reinforcing of steep slopes, or in the prevention of erosion in river banks.
3. •
   (historical) A cylindrical basket or cage of wicker which was filled with earth or stones and used in fortifications and other engineering work (a precursor to the sandbag).

   • Then se the bringing of our ordinance / Along the trench into the battery, / VVhere vve vvil haue gabions of six foot broad / To saue our Cannoniers from musket shot, […] — 1587
4. •
   A knickknack, objet d'art, curiosity, collectable.

   • Reliquiae Trotcosienses: Or, the Gabions of the Late Jonathan Oldbuck Esq. of Monkbarns — title of unfinished novel by Walter Scott.