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A retaining wall is designed to hold in place a mass of earth or the like, such as the edge of a terrace or excavation. The structure is constructed to resist the lateral pressure of soil when there is a desired change in ground elevation that exceeds the angle of repose of the soil. [1]
Moat. A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices.
Bastion. A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, [1] most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the flanks being able to protect the curtain wall and the adjacent bastions. [2]
Crinkle crankle wall in Bramfield, Suffolk. A crinkle crankle wall, also known as a crinkum crankum, sinusoidal, serpentine, ribbon or wavy wall, is an unusual type of structural or garden wall built in a serpentine shape with alternating curves, originally used in Ancient Egypt, but also typically found in Suffolk in England.
Parapet. A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, [1] terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian parapetto (parare 'to cover/defend' and petto 'chest/breast'). Where extending above a roof, a parapet may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that ...
Dry stone walls in the Yorkshire Dales, England. Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. [ 1 ] A certain amount of binding is obtained through the use of carefully selected interlocking stones.
Ecology block with rebar loop on top for use with heavy equipment. An ecology block, also known as an eco-block or ecoblock, is a type of recycled concrete block used to make retaining walls. Ecology blocks are manufactured using concrete left over from other construction processes. A cross-section of an eco-block typically measures 2 feet (61 ...
A gabion wall is a retaining wall made of stacked stone-filled gabions tied together with wire. Gabion walls are usually battered (angled back towards the slope), or stepped back with the slope, rather than stacked vertically. The life expectancy of gabions depends on the lifespan of the wire, not on the contents of the basket.