Piling is now one of the most common construction techniques, but when did the process actually come into existence?
It is actually estimated that piling techniques date back to the 4th Century BC. Herodotus, the Greek writer and traveller, sometimes referred to as the father of history, records how Paeonians lived in dwellings that were erected on lofty piles that were driven into a lake bed. But what else can history tell of us of where this technique originated from?
Ancient Pilings
Piling has been referred to in a number of different texts throughout history. Swiss dwellers referenced a piling technique when referring to lake dwellers who lived around 6,000 years ago and built structures on piled foundations to elevate their dwellings to protect against attack.
Along the Mediterranean coast, Greek and Roman engineers during ancient times used piles for most shore works. In Britain, a Roman bridge spanning the Tyne at Corbridge, 20m West of Newcastle Upon Tyne was built using a piling support structure and another bridge across the Thames, in AD60, was also built using timber piles driven into the river bed.
There is a lot of evidence of piling existing in structures all over the world, testifying to the skills of ancient builders and engineers. Romans can be credited as the forerunners of modern-day piling techniques, as the cities of Ravenna and Venice are some of the oldest examples of their use of Piling with some still existing today.
Refusal Piling
Early records of piling show that they were formed by using timber branches, which were trimmed down with a small diameter at the bottom. These were then driven into the soil until penetration stopped. This condition, known as ‘refusal’ was a combined function of the soil strata and the limits of the driving mechanism. The driving was probably done through hand mauls, hand operated mauls, treadmill drivers, water wheel drivers and gang operated rams. Equipment may have changed, but the technique remains the same.
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