Earthworks are engineering projects using soil and loose rock, dating back to ancient times. Today, engineers use high-tech equipment to build foundations, retaining walls, and alter landscapes. Earthworks are also used in gardening, agriculture, and military fortifications.
Earthworks are engineering projects done with earth and loose rock. The use of land in engineering is one of the oldest applications of engineering. Numerous human societies around the world have manipulated the soil around them for everything from creating defensive fortifications to creating garden spaces on land that might at first appear to be wasteland. Today, engineers work with high-tech software and equipment to build earthworks.
Land is cheap and readily available. It can be difficult to manage, especially in large volumes, and some land ownership can be an obstacle, but these obstacles can be overcome when building embankments. When earthworks are built, people dig, scrape, or otherwise shift the soil to change the contour of the landscape. They also pad and compact the soil, wet it to bring out clay properties, and engage in other activities designed to strengthen their engineering projects.
In construction, earthworks can be used to make foundations, retaining walls, and sometimes entire structures. In this case, they can be supported with rock and other materials. Earthworks are also used in engineering tasks such as making canals, changing the course of rivers or altering the slope of a road. In this case, land moved to achieve a goal can be used to create docks that will perform a protective function. For example, when a canal is being built, berms can be built around it to keep the canal contained in the event of flooding.
Landscapers and gardeners also use earthworks. Contouring the land can be done to make a garden more visually interesting or to make a space more usable. For example, a low earthen bank could be built at the north end of the garden to protect it from the wind, or a hill could be leveled to create a recreational space. In agriculture, earthworks are used for things like terrace farming, where terraces are dug into a hillside to make room for agriculture.
Fortifications known as earthworks have also been a common feature throughout human history. Fortifications of this type are easy to install quickly, an advantage in military applications, and can be quite robust. People can use the earth to create shields and bunkers to protect themselves from explosions and to create walls that repel the enemy. Some very early examples of military earthworks can be seen at archaeological sites in various regions of the world, including ditches surrounding castles, mounds concealing entrances to forts, and embankments that once housed communities.
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