The diagram shows a hoarding located at the top of a curtain wall with sections cut away. The walls were designed to accomodated hoardings by either having holes through which the main beams or corbels which supported the beams on either side of the wall. The hoarding provided a platform that extended out beyond the wall on which the defenders could stand. Similar to the battlements, hoardings had embrasures, or holes through which the archers could shoot.

A gap in the floor of the hoardings allowed the defenders to drop missiles on top of any attacker at the base of the wall. Some curtain walls had plinths, an angled section at the base of the wall. Any missiles dropped on the plinth would be deflected away from the base of the wall and injure unlucky attackers some distance away.

Hoardings may have been a permanent fixture or could have just been constructed at times of conflict.