Battlement

A battlement was a low parapet wall or balustrade enclosing the flat roof of an Israelite house, required by Mosaic law to be built to prevent accidental deaths (Deuteronomy 22:8)—an early building safety regulation. City walls were also topped with battlements for defensive purposes. Jeremiah 5:10 uses the image metaphorically when he commands the invaders to break down Jerusalem's battlements, for they do not belong to the LORD.