GABIONS

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).

A woven wire mesh unit, sometimes rectangular, made from a continuous mesh panel and filled with stones sometimes coated with polyvinyl chloride.

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.

A knickknack, objet d'art, curiosity, collectable.

Example: "Reliquiae trotcosienses: or, the gabions of the late jonathan oldbuck esq. of monkbarns — title of unfinished novel by walter scott."