Talus (fortification)

So, you know how when you build a sandcastle, you make walls around it to keep the sand inside? Well, a talus is kind of like that, but for big castles instead of little ones.

Back in the olden days, people used to build big castles with tall walls around them to keep the bad guys out. But sometimes, those walls weren't enough. Enemy soldiers could still climb up and over them, and then they'd be inside the castle, which was not good.

So, people started building another kind of wall around the base of the castle walls. This wall was called a talus. It was made of huge rocks that were piled up in a big mound around the castle. It was so tall and steep that it was really hard for anyone to climb over it. And if they tried, the rocks would slide around and make it even harder.

This made it much harder for the enemy soldiers to get inside the castle. It gave the people inside more time to prepare for an attack and defend themselves.

So, a talus is a big pile of rocks built around the base of a castle wall to make it more difficult for enemy soldiers to climb over and get inside. Kind of like a big sandcastle wall, but for grown-up castles!