Fortification System Research Articles

The La Bastida fortification: new light and new questions on Early Bronze Age societies in the western Mediterranean

Recent excavations at La Bastida in south-eastern Spain have revealed an impressive stone-built fortification system dating to 2200–2100 cal BC that protected one of the main economic and political centres of Argaric Early Bronze Age society. It consists of parallel walls with projecting towers flanking a narrow entrance passage. The defensive character of these structures appears beyond question and their design suggests they were a response to significant changes in warfare and weaponry in this period. This sophisticated fortification system raises once again the question of possible Mediterranean contacts, along with social change and the role of physical violence in the rise of Argaric society.

The Fortification System of the Straits - The Evaluations as Decision Support in the Economic Development Strategies of the Metropolitan City

The article discusses the creation of the cultural system of the Strait, is divided into a first part which analyzes the structure of the cultural system, and how important it is for the city of Reggio Calabria, in the second part we analyze the system of fortifications "Umbertine ", where we analyze the system as a resource for the creation of the cultural system and the proposed enhancement and recovery, which are brought to light the criteria used for recovery.

The Brief Analysis of Performance-Based Seismic Reinforcement Theory

Nearly 20 years, rare earthquake appeared frequently.The data shows that the world has entered a more active seismic activity period.The impact of earthquake damage to human life and property safety intensified, China is facing the same or even more pressing issue.Therefore, improving the seismic performance on active service structure reinforcement and reconstruction, to reduce earthquake damage, protect people's property security, to reduce the social and economic loss is of great significance. Performance-based seismic design theory, is a multi-index, multi-level seismic fortification system, it is reasonable, flexible development of seismic fortification goals.If apply this thought to structure of the seismic strengthening, forward-looking and innovative, has enormous social and economic benefits as well as the wide research prospects.

Gradina na Kolojanju – sijelo gospodara donje Neretve

In the hinterlands of the Neum municipality there are remains of an impressive hilltop settlement (gradina) about 380 m long and 170 wide and placed on the high plateau above the Hutovo blato and delta of Neretva River close to the Kolojanj village. It is a complex type of gradina with six areas encircled with walls which were protected by the strong fortification system. In this complex are clearly visible: approaching area with the complicated entrance and city dominance. The entrance was placed on the left side from the wall line. It was protected by the ISTAKA on the left side and towers which are still visible. City dominance is the most prominent point of the gradina, as well as the most significant area for the whole community. It has a shape of the ring wall od 43 meters in diameter and it is made out of the chopped stones. By its prominent placement gradina ensured the control of the wide area: lower Neretva , mouth of the river, channel of Neretva and maritime passage to Pelješac peninsula and Hvar, area of Hutovo blato, communications to Popovo polje, Neum and Ošaniči (Daorson) as well as to Neretva river northern from Čapljina and river Trebižat on the west. Special attention have to be paid to it role in the context of lower Neretva and its mouth since many important routes were leading trought this area to the hinterlands there during the last centuries BC. Many discovered sites confirm this thesis. The Desilo lake is promoted as an important harbour along with the sites Tasovčići, Doljani, Dračevo. We also have to emphasize its strategic importance for the period of the Roman military activities in this area, especially in the last decades of the old era, where it makes an important part in the system of defence. Actually it plays a bridgehead between Romans and their allies Daorsi and bellicose Delmati on the other side.

Wiggle-Match Dating of Tree-Ring Sequences from the Early Iron Age Defensive Settlement Motroninskoe Gorodishche in Mielniki (Central Ukraine)

In 2002–2003, excavations were carried out within the early Iron Age fortified settlement of Motroninskoe Gorodishche in Mielniki (central Ukraine, obl. Cherkassy). The excavations revealed relics of a charred wooden structure in the core of the earth rampart, originally forming the outside fortification line of the settlement. Dendrochronological analysis of 20 charred pieces of the oakwood from the rampart demonstrated that they all represented a single construction phase. However, the chronology produced from them spanned only 62 yr, and the attempts of dating against the European oak standards were unsuccessful. For absolute dating, radiocarbon analysis was conducted on nine samples consisting of 4–8 tree rings, relatively dated and coming from selected timbers, of which dendrochronological sequences defined the above chronology. The wiggle-matching method allowed to determine the two most plausible periods tree cutting: 665–630 or 625–520 BC. The construction date of the rampart outlines the beginning of construction of the fortification system of one of the most heavily reinforced strongholds in eastern Europe raised by the local, settled population for defense against the nomadic Scythians invading from the steppe. Taking into account historic data and other dated artifacts, it may be assumed that the first period, 665–630 BC, would be more probable. This conclusion supports the historical process (crucial for eastern Europe) of migration of the Iranian Scythians from inside Asia and settling in areas around the Black Sea.

Wiggle-Match Dating of Tree-Ring Sequences from the Early Iron Age Defensive Settlement Motroninskoe Gorodishche in Mielniki (Central Ukraine)

In 2002–2003, excavations were carried out within the early Iron Age fortified settlement of Motroninskoe Gorodishche in Mielniki (central Ukraine, obl. Cherkassy). The excavations revealed relics of a charred wooden structure in the core of the earth rampart, originally forming the outside fortification line of the settlement. Dendrochronological analysis of 20 charred pieces of the oakwood from the rampart demonstrated that they all represented a single construction phase. However, the chronology produced from them spanned only 62 yr, and the attempts of dating against the European oak standards were unsuccessful. For absolute dating, radiocarbon analysis was conducted on nine samples consisting of 4–8 tree rings, relatively dated and coming from selected timbers, of which dendrochronological sequences defined the above chronology. The wiggle-matching method allowed to determine the two most plausible periods tree cutting: 665–630 or 625–520 BC. The construction date of the rampart outlines the beginning of construction of the fortification system of one of the most heavily reinforced strongholds in eastern Europe raised by the local, settled population for defense against the nomadic Scythians invading from the steppe. Taking into account historic data and other dated artifacts, it may be assumed that the first period, 665–630 BC, would be more probable. This conclusion supports the historical process (crucial for eastern Europe) of migration of the Iranian Scythians from inside Asia and settling in areas around the Black Sea.

Floods, fights and a fluid river: the Viennese Danube in the sixteenth century

Alluvial rivers can show unpredictable channel changes and humans living along the river corridor repeatedly have to cope with the alterations of their physical environment. This was specifically the case in the mid-sixteenth century, when the Viennese were confronted with one major problem: the Danube River successively abandoned its main arm that ran close to the city and shifted further north. This was at the time when Vienna became the permanent residence of the Holy Roman Empire (except from 1583 to 1611 when it was moved to Prague), due to the Habsburgs holding the crown. Vienna was also the capital of the so-called Danube Monarchy, which came into being in the early sixteenth century. The city assumed increasing significance, being home to and hosting important authorities and persons. In particular after the first siege by the Ottoman army in 1529, the resource need for a complex fortification system was extremely high. This paper aims to highlight: (1) the morphological Danube dynamics together with floods and extreme weather situations in the sixteenth century; (2) the main actors in the transformation of the Danube; (3) changes of the river’s course from 1550 to 1600/1650 and the consequences for bridging the river and the infrastructure as a whole; (4) the massive engineering measures that were undertaken in order to secure Vienna’s requirements in the sixteenth century; (5) the question of floodplain settlements, and (6) the contested use of resources on the Viennese Danube floodplain.

Survey of the Part of Medieval Fortification System of Prague Lesser Town

The paper deals with the historical and structural survey of the medieval stone bridge recently discovered in the Prague Castle area. The old masonry construction, probably dated back to 15th century, includes bridge arch and two pillars in a highly authentic state. Failures and deterioration processes of this historical structure are described. The important achievement of in situ inspection and laboratory analysis are presented, interventions and maintenance plan proposed.

Compositional development of spaces related to the fortification of cities from the point of view of garden art and landscape architecture

The article deals with the specific urban and suburban spaces where landscape design and garden art were confronted with existing or later disappearing fortification system. It analyses structures related to the landscape architecture from the baroque and classical times to the era of the pseudohistorical style, from the end of the 17th century to the end of the 19th century, with special interest devoted to the less known historical forms of the 18th century and their development. Using detailed historical maps and plans, the research reveals elements of landscape architecture in smaller or larger scale of several types – gardens close to the city walls, tree plantings and gardens on the fortification bastions, gardens and promenade alleys under them on the glacis or private gardens on the surrounding grounds, that were still influenced by the existence of the fortification system.Two historically important Moravian cities were used here as an example – Brno and Olomouc, where main types of green spaces (near the walls on their both sides) and several possible ways of their development were followed and analysed, and specific types of compositional and spatial development were defined. These could be understood as basic ‘evolution types’ specific for central European cities in general, and can be found in variations in other cities and towns in this region.

Assessment of the Lines of Torres Vedras defensive system with visibility analysis

A method to assess the coherence of defensive systems based on the individual and combined visual coverage of fortifications is presented. The case study is the complex fortification system of Lines of Torres Vedras, around Lisbon, Portugal, activated in the first decade of the 19th century to halt the French armies of Napoleon in the Peninsular War. As messages between fortifications are known to have been exchanged visually by semaphore, GIS-based viewshed calculations enabled the assessment of the system's coherence and the exploration of how the undocumented communication with the defensive forces' headquarters in Lisbon might have been achieved. Results show that the defensive system with its two lines was highly effective per se with respect to the visual coverage of the terrain and the exchange of messages between fortifications, but it could have been improved with minor changes to the location of communication devices. It is also found that communication with the headquarters in Lisbon was not adequate, suggesting that additional devices were needed.

SURVEY, REPRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF A WAR I COMPLEX SYSTEM OF SURFACE AND UNDERGROUND FORTIFICATIONS IN THE GRESTA VALLEY, ITALY

Abstract. This work is part of a research on the use of terrestrial laser scanner, integrated with total station and GPS, for the documentation and comprehension of complex architectures in up-land sites. The research is performed in the framework of the project "Ambiente e Paesaggi dei siti di Altura Trentini" – APSAT (Environment and landscape of hill-top sites in Trentino), a multidisciplinary project focused on the evolution of hill-top anthropic system in the Trentino region, Italy. The study area is located in the Gresta Valley and this work concerns on the Nagià Grom site, fortified by the Austria-Hungarian Army during the World War I. The site has been interested by a significant restore operation of a large series of entrenches paths and fortifications in the last decade. The survey herein described has involved an area once interested by military barracks with Officers' Mess, water provision and by one of the biggest field kitchens discovered in the Trentino region. A second survey involved the tunnel connecting the ammunition depot to the artillery stations. The nature of such complex architectures, characterized by an irregular and composite 3D span leads, in general, to necessary simple surveys and representations and somehow to simplified studies too. The 3D point cloud, once filtered by the massive presence of dense vegetation, eventually constitutes a rich data set for further analyses on the spatial, geological, architectural and historical properties of the site. The analysis has been carried out on two different scales. At the architectural-scale, the comparison to historic photos has allowed to understand how the original structure of the barracks was made and to find building characters that now are lost. The on-site observation of the underground stratigraphic splices and their analysis in the 3D point cloud, e.g., spatial extension and slope, have permitted the understanding of the special excavation process guided by the practical advantage of exploiting the natural collapse of the rock along the stratigraphic splices. At the landscape-scale: the 1918's aerial photos, showing the trenches and military barracks during the World War I, have been georeferenced and compared to recent ortho- photos and DTM to evaluate the landscape changes and to assess the complete detection of the entire set of fortified structures. The analysis involved also the evaluation of the landscape visibility from some key points of the fortification and the visibility of the same fortification from the surrounding landscape. That has permitted, for example, to underline the very strategic location of the field kitchen. The availability of the 1×1m ALS DSM suggests a possible processing for the detection of the preserved surface artefacts and trenches so to extend the metric knowledge of the fortification system and to plan further surveys.

The Great Wall of Tell en-Nasbeh (Mizpah), The First Fortifications in Judah, and 1 Kings 15:16-22

Abstract The article proposes that the Great Wall at Tell en-Nasbeh was built by King Jehoash in the second half of the 9th century BCE. It then sets this city-wall on the broader background of the construction—at the same time—of the first system of fortifications in Judah, a system that also includes Lachish and Beth-shemesh in the west and Beer-sheba and Arad in the south. Finally, the article suggests a scenario that attempts to clarify the tradition in 1 Kings 15:16-22.

Book Review of Botanical Aspects of Environment and Economy at Gordion, Turkey, by Naomi F. Miller

In Botanical Aspects of Environment and Economy at Gordion, Turkey, Miller reports on her analysis of charcoal and charred seeds from the site of Gordion. Famous in Greek mythology as the home of the Phrygian king Midas, Gordion is where Alexander the Great cut the cord on the yoke of Gordion’s wagon (“cutting the Gordion knot”), allowing him to claim his destiny to rule Asia. The site features a 13 ha citadel mound (Yassıhöyük), surrounded by a 51 ha inner town and fortification system (Kuçuk Hoyuk and Kuş Tepe) and an outer town with a settlement covering 1.5 km².

Variation in selenium tolerance among two onion cultivars in closed fortification system

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for humans and animals. To consumption of selenium could be good sources the vegetables. Many of them are able to convert the inorganic selenium forms to organic forms, which are more effective for health. To enrich onion with selenium is known however some unclear points are remained. A closed fortification system was conducted to compare the difference of selenium tolerance in two onion cultivars in greenhouse environment. This system was well controlled, eliminating a lot of disturbing factors. The comparative analysis of Makói bronz and Makói lila spring onoins showed that there is difference in selenium tolerance and accumulation not only between plant species but inside it between the different cultivars, too. The Makói bronz seemed to more sensitive to the selenate treatment than Makói lila.

Fortificiranje grada Cresa u 16. stoljeću

U radu se objavljuju podaci i pretpostavke o fazama izgradnje pojedinih kortina, kula i vrata creskih fortifikacija 16. stoljeća, kao i imena kamenara, klesara i graditelja aktivnih na tom zadatku u razdoblju između 1508. i 1610. godine, zapisana u Libri delle fabbricha delle mura koji se čuvaju u Državnom arhivu u Rijeci.

Altos de Reveque: un asentamiento fortificado fenicio-púnico en el litoral de Andalucía oriental

We report preliminary results from research into a new fortified settlement located close to the western coast in the current province of Almeria in the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. An analysis is made of the fortification system, consisting of a casemate walls, and of the archaeological materials collected at the surface, offering a chronology of the site between the second half of the 6 th century B.C. to the end of the 5 th or early 4 th century B.C. The function proposed for the site is that of a strategic control of metal and agricultural resources by the ancient Phoenician city of Abdera.

Fortification of maternal milk for very low birth weight (VLBW) pre-term neonates

Human milk is the best food for all neonates; however, in pre-term infants, especially those with a very low birth weight, it may lead to insufficient intake of protein and energy. The use of fortified human milk produces adequate growth in premature infants and satisfies the specific nutritional requirements of these babies. To improve the nutritional management of pre-term infants ≤ 35 weeks’ gestational age, an individualised human milk fortification system based on the analysis of maternal milk was evaluated.

„Măgura” Uroiului (Hunedoara County, Romania). An Archaeological Site from the perspective of Landscape Archaeology

The archaeological site of “Măgura Uroiului” (Hunedoara County) is one of the most complex sites in Romania due to its geomorphologic qualities and continuously habitation from prehistory through the Middle Ages. It is a hill with volcanic origin and a series of natural platforms. It was a favorable place both for military fortifications, for civil settlements, and also for quarrying stone. In 2008 a wide-landscape archaeology study was started that includes a detailed digital cartography of the terrain and a 3D reconstruction of the whole archaeological complex and a paleomorphology study. Integrated remote sensing methods (satellite images analysis and geophysical prospects) were used. The first step was a detailed topographical measurement of the site’s surface with the help of a total station (over 100 hectares) in order to reveal all micro-relief details, both natural and manmade. The second step was the editing of GIS spatial data, 2D and 3D graphic reconstructions. The third step was the analysis of the geomorphologic evolution of the terrain, the identification and interpretation of man-made features, the recognition of the ways of human intervention in the environment and of the causes and effects generated in the local ecosystem. The fourth step was a interdisciplinary analysis combining remote sensing and geophysical prospects in order to establish the exact inhabited areas, fortification system, road network, etc. Our study is meant to be a multidisciplinary analysis and aims to establish the relationship between man and environment, the difficult part being the extraordinary complexity of this site and its dimensions.

The Cult of the Salona Martyrs in the Amphitheatre

The Salona amphitheatre was originally built on the extreme outskirts of the city and was enveloped by the new ring of city ramparts that were put up in what was called the Urbs occidentalis. It was incorporated into the unified fortification system when it underwent considerable changes, but remained intact (integrum remanebat) even after the fall of Salona. During the persecution of the Christians in the reign of Diocletian, Christians were martyred in this very arena. In order to commemorate the deaths of the martyrs, Christian oratories were created in the spaces of the substructure of the amphitheatre. In the eastern of the two memorial chapels were frescoes of Asterius and other martyrs. In the area of the amphitheatre five Early Christian capitals were discovered. The presence of capitals shows that, apart from the known oratories there were certain other cult spaces set up within the amphitheatre. It was probably a large space, undoubtedly connected with the oratories. It is an unsettled question ...

“This Period of Desperate Enterprise”

This article looks at the reaction of the British military authorities in Kingston to the outbreak of the Upper Canada Rebellion in December 1837. The revolt had come at an awkward time. The vast majority of Kingston’s regular garrison had been earlier dispatched to quell the uprising in Lower Canada leaving the town open to Patriot attack. As well, Fort Henry, whose construction had begun in 1832 and the lynch pin of a proposed system of fortifications designed to protect the province’s chief military depot, Royal Navy dockyard and the entrance to the Rideau Canal, was not yet complete. Lead by Richard Bonnycastle of the Royal Engineers, a small cadre of British regulars and retired veterans took vigorous steps to organize and train the eager but raw Canadian militia and volunteers. The effectiveness of the training was realized in late February 1838 when the Patriots made their major attempt to capture Kingston.