medieval fortification Medieval fortification refers to medieval military methods that cover the development of fortification construction and use in Europe, roughly from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the Renaissance. During this millennium, fortifications ...

, a trou de loup (, ; plural trous de loup, also commonly referred to as a tiger pit in the East) was a type of

booby trap A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or an animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap may b ...

or defensive obstacle. Each trou de loup consisted of a

conical In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the ''apex'' or '' vertex''. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, ...

pit about deep and wide at the top. At the bottom of the pit, a sharpened

punji stick The punji sticks or punji stake is a type of booby trapped stake. It is a simple spike, made out of wood or bamboo, which is sharpened, heated, and usually set in a hole. Punji sticks are usually deployed in substantial numbers. The ''Oxford Englis ...

(wooden stake) would be hammered in. In some cases, the pit was concealed by light cover of

wicker Wicker is a method of weaving used to make products such as furniture and baskets, as well as a descriptor to classify such products. It is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as . Wicker was first documented ...

and a layer of soil. Trous de loup might be found singly as a trap (in which case they were always concealed), or in a dense pattern with no gaps between pits, used as an obstacle in front of a defended position. A field of trous de loup could be made more effective if subsequently flooded to a shallow depth, which would conceal the pits, make their sides slippery, and add the risk of

drowning Drowning is a type of Asphyxia, suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Submersion injury refers to both drowning and near-miss incidents. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where othe ...

. Sometimes rotting meat or feces would be smeared onto the points to cause serious infection or death.

History

Even though the term has a medieval origin, this kind of device was first described by

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

, in the seventh book of his ''

Commentarii de Bello Gallico ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; ), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' (), is Julius Caesar's first-hand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it, Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine yea ...

'' (Commentaries on the Gallic Wars), who employed the device during the siege of Alesia. Caesar writes they were called ''lilies'' for their resemblance to the flower of the same name.C. Julius Caesar. ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' book VII, chapter 73. Later Roman examples can be seen at

Rough Castle Rough Castle Fort is a Roman fort on the Antonine Wall roughly 2 kilometres south east of Bonnybridge near Tamfourhill in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. It is owned by the National Trust for Scotland. Context The Antonine Wall dates f ...

on the

Antonine Wall The Antonine Wall () was a turf fortification on stone foundations, built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Built some twenty years after Hadrian's Wall to the south ...

in Great Britain.

References

{{Fortifications Fortification (obstacles) Medieval defences Area denial weapons Guerrilla warfare tactics