In civil engineering, earthworks are engineering works created through the moving of massive quantities of soil or unformed stone. Engineers need to concern themselves with both issues of geotechnical engineering (such as soil fluidity and friction), and with quantity estimation - to ensure that soil volumes in the cuts match those of the fills, while minimising the distance of movement. In the past, such calculations were done by hand using a slide rule and with methods such as Simpson's rule and now using a computer and specialised software. The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland. ... Soil is the material on the surface of a lithosphere subject to weathering, and especially the earthy portion of that material. ... Sedimentary, volcanic, plutonic, metamorphic rock types of North America. ... Bostons Big Dig presented geotechnical challenges in an urban environment. ... Look up cut in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In civil engineering, a Fill is an artificial ridge or dam of earth or gravel constructed to support a prepared right-of-way such as a railroad or highway across a valley or depression. ... The slide rule (often nicknamed a slipstick) is a mechanical analog computer, consisting of calibrated strips, usually a fixed outer pair and a movable inner one, with a sliding window called the cursor. ... In numerical analysis, Simpsons rule (named after Thomas Simpson) is a way to get an approximation of an integral: Basics Simpsons rule works by approximating by the quadratic polynomial which takes the same values as at a, b, and the midpoint m=(a+b)/2. ... The IBM ThinkCentre A Series is a popular line of computers. ... Computer software (or simply software) refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of a computer for some purpose. ...

Due to the massive amounts of material to be moved — millions of Cubic Yards in the case of large dams — earthwork engineering was revolutionised by the development of the (Fresno) scraper and other earth-moving machines such as the loader, production trucks, the grader, the bulldozer, the backhoe and the drag line excavator. The Fresno Scraper was invented in 1883 by the Scottish immigrant and entrepreneur James Porteous who, having worked with farmers in Fresno, California, had recognised the dependence of the Fresno Valley on irrigation and the requirement for a more efficient means of constructing canals and ditches in the sandy soil. ... Military Scraper In civil engineering, a wheel tractor-scraper is a piece of heavy equipment used for earthmoving. ... An excavator. ... A Volvo L120E front loader. ... A dump truck or production truck is a truck used for transporting loose material (such as sand, gravel, or dirt) for construction. ... Modern grader in use by the US military. ... A bulldozer is a powerful crawler (caterpillar tracked tractor) equipped with a blade. ... Picture 1:Backhoe used for work on the street Picture 2:Skid loader with bucket replaced by backhoe attachment A backhoe, also called a rear actor or back actor, is a piece of excavating equipment consisting of a digging bucket on the end of an articulated arm (also called a... Huge Manitowok 4600 Heavy lift Dragline at the SNS Project, 2005. ...

Typical earthworks include roads, dams, dykes and canals. A typical rural county road in Indiana, USA, where traffic drives on the right. ... Scrivener Dam, in Canberra, Australia, was engineered to withstand a once-in-5000-years flood event A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. ... A dike (or dyke) is an earthen wall, constructed as a defence or as a boundary. ... The Canal du Midi in Toulouse, France. ...

In military engineering, earthworks are more specifically types of fortifications constructed from soil. Although soil is not very strong, it is cheap enough that huge quantities can be used, generating formidable structures. Examples of older earthwork fortifications include moats, sod walls, motte-and-bailey castles and hill forts. Modern examples include trenches and berms. A military engineer is primarily responsible for the design and construction of offensive and defensive structures for warfare. ... Table of Fortification, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... The moated manor house of Baddesley Clinton in Warwickshire, England Moats (also known as a Fosse) were deep and wide water-filled trenches, excavated to provide a barrier against attack upon castle ramparts or other fortifications. ... Rolled sod Sod farm in Cutchogue. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Separation barrier. ... A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle. ... The term hill fort is commonly used by archaeologists to describe fortified enclosures located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. ... Trench Warfare is a form of war in which both opposing armies have static lines of fortifications dug into the ground, facing each other. ... A berm is a level space or shelf separating two features. ...

Archaeologists also have an interest in earthworks, including ancient fortifications, henges, barrows and other tombs, see excavation. Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... A henge is a roughly circular or oval-shaped flat area over 20m in diameter which is enclosed and delimited by a boundary earthwork that usually comprises a ditch with an external bank. ... Burial of Oleg of Novgorod in a tumulus in 912. ... A tomb is a small building (or vault) for the remains of the dead, with walls, a roof, and (if it is to be used for more than one corpse) a door. ... Excavation is the best-known and most commonly used technique within the science of archaeology. ...

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