Fortification

Bourtange star fort, restored to 1750 situation, Groningen (province), Netherlands

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

Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defense during war. People have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, but the designs have become more and more complex. The term fortification comes from the Latin words fortis ("strong") and facere ("to make").

Many military installations are known as forts, although they are not always fortified. Larger forts may class as fortresses, smaller ones formerly often bore the name of fortalices. Some are castles. The word fortification can also mean the practice of improving an area's defense with defensive works. City walls are fortifications but not necessarily called fortresses.

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

Fortification Media

Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Puerto Rico. The fortress and walled city of Old San Juan are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, Colombia. Cartagena's colonial walled city and fortress were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Maiden Castle in 1935. The Iron Age hillfort was first built in 600 BC.
Early 20th century aerial photograph of the fortifications of Valletta, Malta, which were built in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Han dynasty tomb brick showing gate towers
Remains of a fortified village, Borġ in-Nadur, Malta. Borġ in-Nadur is a notable example of Bronze Age fortifications.
Reconstructed walls of Bibracte, a Gaulish oppidum, showing the construction technique known as murus gallicus. Oppida were large fortified settlements used during the Iron Age.
An ancient casemate wall at Masada.
An interior view of the Aurelian walls near Porta San Sebastiano