In engineering, gabions consist of a box or basket with a rectangular prismatic shape, filled with stone or earth, wicker or metal mesh made of stainless steel or galvanized iron with low carbon content.

As stone assembly and filling operations do not require any expertise, with gabions works can be carried out that would otherwise require much more time and specialized workers.

They are mostly manufactured with electrowelded meshes due to greater rigidity, beauty and resistance to stress, working as a whole in monolithic form due to the density of the filling, made with galvanized steel rods with a diameter according to calculation that is between 3mm to 10mm. Due to its permeability, it allows water to pass through, relieving the great tensions due to hydrostatic pressure that accumulate behind the walls. There is also another variant made with a triple twisted and squared fabric type 8x10 m of 2.5 mm steel wire, which is given three layers of galvanizing, with 270 grams of zinc, the edges will have to be reinforced with 3.4 mm wire and wire will also be used to tie its faces.

Another peculiarity of these structures is the very good integration with the environment, allowing the development of the vegetation and the life of the native fauna of the place.

Gabions can have different appearances, it is very common to find them in the shape of a box, which can have lengths of, for example, 1.5, 2, 3 or 4 m, a width of 1 m and a height of 0.5 or 1.0 m. The final dimensions are determined based on the needs and requirements of the work in question.

The appearance of gabions dates back to 3000 BC. C. on the central Peruvian coast, where the builders of the Caral civilization used the technique of shicras, bags made with plant fibers and filled with stone blocks, with which they filled the platforms of the temples, placing them slightly apart. In this way they achieved stability in the structures. When a strong earthquake or earthquake occurred, that core of shicras that formed the base of the building moved with the vibration, but in a limited way, since the stones were contained in the bags. Then, the shicras were rearranged, finding a new point of stability. The shicras therefore had an anti-seismic function.

At the same time, in the year 700 BC. C. in Egypt, the Egyptians built dams on the banks of the Nile River based on baskets of natural fibers.

In the century during the wars, engineers used wicker baskets filled with earth called by their Italian inventors “gabbioni” or “large cages” to fortify military sites and reinforce river banks.