Battlements

The battlement appears in the law of Deuteronomy as a required architectural feature on the roofs of new houses, designed to prevent bloodguilt from falling deaths.

A Required Rooftop Parapet

When a household builds, the law makes the parapet a binding part of the construction: "When you build a new house, then you will make a battlement for your roof, that you do not bring blood on your house, if any man falls from there" (De 22:8). The flat, usable Israelite roof is treated as a place where people will be present, and the householder is held responsible for guarding against the death of anyone who falls. The battlement is framed as a safety measure tied directly to the bloodguilt principle — to leave a roof unbordered is to bring blood on the house.