Earthworks: an historical perspective

This chapter provides a discussion of the history of earthworks in the UK, covering various highway, canal, railway and reservoir applications. A timeline, summarising the key developments in earthworks in the UK is presented as Tables 1.1 and 1.2. Sections 1.1 to 1.4 below describe the historical development of earthworks methods up to and including the Industrial Revolution (summarised in Table 1.1), and Section 1.5 describes the development of modern earthworks methods based on scientific research and theory (summarised as Table 1.2).

Tables 1.1 and 1.2 illustrate the interrelationship of these various developments through time. Table 1.1 recognises the historical discoveries by the Romans that were then largely forgotten until the major growth in requirements for earthworks projects as a result of the transport and Industrial Revolutions, when experience was gained primarily through trial and error. Table 1.2 charts the development of modern earthworks based on scientific research and soil mechanics theory. Various sources have been drawn on in the preparation of these tables, including the references mentioned throughout this chapter.