An archery butts is an archery practice field, with mounds of earth used for the targets. The name originally referred to the targets themselves, but over time came to mean the platforms that held the targets as well. For instance Othello, V,ii,267 mentions "Here is my journey's end, here is my butt". In medieval times, it was compulsory for all yeomen in England to learn archery. The word is also used today for the earthwork mounds on, or before, which targets are mounted on a rifle range, with the object of stopping the flight of bullets beyond the range.