Fortification

Bourtange star fort,restored to1750situation,Groningen (province),Netherlands

Templeborough Roman fortin Yorkshire. The reconstruction was created for Rotherham Museums and Galleries.

Fortificationsaremilitaryconstructions andbuildingsdesigned fordefenseduringwar.People have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, but the designs have become more and more complex. The term fortification comes from theLatinwordsfortis( "strong" ) andfacere( "to make" ).

Many military installations are known asforts,although they are not always fortified. Larger forts may class asfortresses,smaller ones formerly often bore the name offortalices.Some arecastles.The wordfortificationcan also mean the practice of improving an area's defense with defensive works.City wallsarefortificationsbut not necessarily calledfortresses.

The last great system of fortification to be built was theAtlantic Wall.

Related pages

• Fortress
• Stronghold
• Salient

Other websites

• Information on Australian World War 2 Fortifications
• A Military History of Malta (Fortifications)
• Fortress Cologne
• Aerial photography: Fortress - Komárom - Hungary
• Petrovaradin - Greatest XVIII century fortress in EuropeArchived2006-12-05 at theWayback Machine

Gallery

• 
  Nakhal Fort, one of the best-preserved forts inOman
• 
  Mehrangarh FortinJodhpur(Rajasthan,India)
• 
  Gríanán of Aileach, ancient Irish ringfort, Donegal
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  A restored portion of theGreat Wall of China
• 
  Coastal fortification with a rotating gun turret.
• 
  Fort FrederickMartello TowerinKingston, OntarioatRoyal Military College of Canada
• 
  Bare Island FortinBotany Bayin a suburb calledLa Perouse,Sydney,Australia

This article includes text from the public domain1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica.Please add to the article as needed.