Guns on the second tier were similarly shielded and also fired through embrasures, but guns on the third tier, the “barbette,” or parapet level, would be positioned out in the open to fire over the tops of the walls. Both the casemate and top tiers were in good shape to receive guns and already held eleven large cannon. The second level, however, was nowhere near complete. It had forty-one openings in its wall, but none had yet been turned into a functional embrasure. Twenty were covered only with boards; the rest were open or haphazardly closed with brick.
