Historical Military Fortifications

Introduction

The need for a military fortification was not found until mankind began establishing permanent or semi-permanent long-term residences and communities. The desire to protect one's assets is universal and the desire to pursue another's assets and claim them for your own has been well documented in the countless fortifications that have been built around the globe for the past ten thousand years. I've explored just a few and presented varying examples from different cultures and time periods.

Sargon's Fortress~720 B.C.E.

The lands of Mesopotamia were fraught with on-going conflicts from as far back as historical
references account for. “Repeatedly during its long history, hostile groups invaded from the north and east, producing periodic dramatic political changes” (Roth, 2007).

 From 4000 B.C.E. To 224 C.E., roughly four thousand plus years, this region saw some of the fiercest battles over the prized land as any time in history.

Dur-Sharrukin roughy translates to “Sargon's Fortress.”

The complex covered 25 acres with an orthogonal layout and included a temple, a free-standing ziggurat.

Forming a nearly perfect square, the length and width of the exterior walls measuring 1.76 km by 1.635 km, it was also one of the first architectural feats to put the design first and the surroundings second.

 

The Red Fortress of Granada; the Al-hambra~approx 850 C.E.

In the mid-9^th Century, a red clay castle lay in ruins at a height of 2,570 above the river Darro in what is now known as Granada, Spain. Muhammed I, founder of the Nasrid dynasty, began building a new red clay structure atop the foundations of the ancient ruins and the new Red Castle was born. Alhambra has survived throughout Muslim, Christian, and Jewish cultures for over a thousand years.

Typical of Islamic architecture, the focus between light and shadow is deliberately accentuated at every turn. This is a courtyard inside one of the palaces of the Red Fortress.

 The ceiling of the Sala de las dos Hermanas (Hall of the Two Sisters) is an unbelievably complex series of layered carvings.  You can see the design is made up of hundreds of “squinches,” or “sirdabs,” which is essentially a tiny vault in the angle of two right angles which is built up to create a new shape, typical of Islamic architecture (Cole, 2006).

  The fine detail and carvings of wooden and stone lattices feature inscriptions and images worked into the walls. Many of the inscriptions in the structure are passages from the Koran.

Mt. Oneion~Greece, 4^th and 3^rd Centuries, B.C.E.

Through the region of Corinth in ancient Greece lies a series of walled fortifications designed

 to prevent invaders from crossing the mountains of Oneion.  

Pottery, cisterns, and other daily-use items were found amongst the ruins of what was a freestanding tower on the summit of the easternmost region of Mt. Oneion. It's been identified as the likely watch tower for the section of wall in this region. 

While it doesn't look like much, this active archaeological dig in Greece can teach us much about the Hellenistic period of military fortifications. William Caraher, one of the founders and individuals actively researching the site, stands atop the ruins of what was once a tall watch tower. 

The walls that extend away from the tower in both directions was made from natural boulders piled into the hand-created “farm wall” structures common around the world. Certainly not fancy, but walls of this sort have saved soldier's lives all the way through modern times.

  

England~12^th through 16^th Centuries

 The 12^th Century saw the beginning of an explosion of castle building throughout England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. Wales alone has over 600 established castle locations recorded in modern history, and Ireland claims to have over 30,000 locations.

Dover Castle started out as a simple hillock and series of ditches sometime between 800 BC and 43 AD in modern day Kent, England. Around 1180 AD during the High Middle Ages, Dover Castle is officially rebuilt by King Henry II. It was not only a massive financial undertaking and the “most expensive castle project of its time,” (English Heritage, 2017) it was the first recorded castle to go through the morphing process from a hillock, to a motte and bailey, to a keep, then to a walled keep, and finally to the full fledged castle palace and royal residence. It also continued as an operating military fortification and defense of England for over 9 centuries during the various wars and political tumults that defined an Empire, right up through 1958.

Artist Rendering of the 13^th Century Siege by French troops against Dover

   

Above is a closer image of the main keep and two sets of walls. 

Below is the aerial view of the entire estate which shows the massive undertaking of gullies and hillocks, the ditches and mounds created to further impede ground troops on foot or horseback. The sculpting of the landscape in this fashion meant cannons or wagons could not be pulled up close to the castle walls to get a really good shot at them. 

Italy~ 16^th Century

 The Italian Republic of Venice began construction of the fortress city Palmanova in 1593 to begin finally creating a place from which to protect itself from the Turks, who had led seven prior invasions on the area between 1470 and 1499.

                           An architectural rendering of the planned construct for the fortification. 

An aerial photo taken in modern times of the walled city.  

North American Military Fortifications~18^th and 19^th Centuries

 Fort William Henry in Lake George, NY was originally built by the British in 1755 to defend against the French coming down from already conquered Quebec and Montreal. Fort George was built atop the site by the British when they resumed control in 1758 and the current Fort William Henry was reconstructed in 1953.

 The thick outer protective walls of Fort William Henry emulate the European and Middle Eastern castle models. They are complete with crenellations, archer (or gunman) pockets, a slanted ramp through the main gate for horses and wagons to access or egress and soldiers and wares can be housed inside the walls as well as in the inner main structure.

The Alamo, originally a Spanish mission christened “Mission San Antonio de Valero,” was abandoned by the Spanish in 1793 as the lands of the surrounding garrison were dispersed amongst the residents. In the early1800's, Spanish troops were again stationed at the former mission and it became known as El Alamo, after the Spanish word for a cottonwood tree as well as commemorating their former residence in Mexico, Alamo de Parras.

In terms of construction, what we see of the Alamo now is certainly not how it originally started out. In 1772, the Mission was roofless, the walls were shored up with mounds of dirt and a dirt ramp for a cannon was in place. 

 The U.S. Government, and later the Daughters' of Texas built up and created the facade, raised the height of the walls and added a roof. Most representations of the Alamo portray the one side wall that is most recognizable, but to full understand a 3-D image of the entire structure, Lego actually provided the best rendering.

 The arcade along the right side is home to climbing vines and flowers, but the Alamo's blocky stone structure and low profile make it much more typical of a military fortification than one would think if viewing just the front image from a far-off or low perspective.

 

Conclusion

 While modern society often thinks of castles as romantic residences and forts as something you build in your living room with blankets and pillows, the reality was far different. The castles, towers, fortifications, and walled constructs of old were build to protect life, land, and culture. They were meant to impose a sense of doom and hopelessness against the enemy. They were cold, drafty, often inaccessible even by friend, much less foe, and letters have been found, written by English lords and ladies who were given Irish estates to manage, begging the king who placed them there to let them come home to England and live in comfort. Often, survival was impossible as troops starved, froze to death or died of illnesses that spread rampant through the walled-in cities or forts. Siege meant you couldn't get out, even as they couldn't get in. When a lord was out of favor, he might be sent off to a remote castle and given the impossible task of defending it with few funds and fewer troops.

 We are privileged to be able to take for granted our time of peace and comfort and enjoy leisurely trips to locations around the world where thousands have died for their country and the blood of friend and foe has soaked into the very foundations.

   

Works Cited and Referenced:

Caraher, W. R., & Gregory, T. E. (2006). Fortifications of Mount Oneion. Retrieved April 16, 2017, from www.militaryarchitecture.com

Centre, U. W. (2006, January 06). Fortress Town of Palmanova. Retrieved April 20, 2017, from http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1154/

Cole, E. (2007). The Grammar of Architecture. Fishermans Bend, Vic.: Craftsman House.

Fort William Henry “Massacre. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2017, from http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1175.html

History of Dover Castle. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2017, from http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dover-castle/history/

Klein, B. B., Toman, R., & Bednorz, A. (2013). History of architecture. Bath: Parragon.

LEGO (LEGO). (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2017, from https://www.pinterest.com/LEGO/

Morelli, M. (2006). Royal Palaces. New York: Barnes & Noble Books.

Palmanova. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2017, from http://www.lignano-tourism.com/en/lignano-attractions/towns-and-cities/palmanova.html

Payette, P. (2010, November 14). New York Forts. Retrieved April 21, 2017, from http://www.northamericanforts.com/East/ny.html#clinton1

Radner, K. (2012, November 5). Dur-Šarruken, the "Fortress of Sargon". Retrieved April 24, 2017, from http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sargon/essentials/cities/durarruken/

Roth, L. M. (2007). Understanding architecture: its elements, history, and meaning (2nd ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Share, S. (Director). (2014). Tales of Irish Castles [Television series]. American Public Television.

Hosted by Simon Delaney.

Www.area25.es, A. I. (n.d.). Hall of the Two Sisters - Nasrid Palaces. Retrieved April 21, 2017, from https://www.alhambradegranada.org/en/info/nasridpalaces/hallofthetwosisters.asp

The Alamo. (2010). Retrieved April 18, 2017, from http://www.history.com/topics/alamo

The Alamo Virtual Tour. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2017, from http://www.thealamo.org