This study investigates the effect of topography in ancient city Kerkenes using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Kerkenes, an Iron Age city located on a batholith in Yozgat province, Turkey, was chosen because of its exceptional size, short life and the availability of extensive data. Approximately seven kilometres of city wall in Kerkenes, including towers and seven gates, enclose 2.5 km&sup2 / . The research comprises topographic analysis and settlement data analysis. Elevation values collected by Global Positioning System (GPS) and 1:25000 scaled topographic maps are used to create and analyze elevation, slope and aspect maps. Basic statistics of the city wall, towers and gates are calculated and a procedure is then followed to examine the city wall, towers and gates to understand reasons for the line of the city wall, the uneven distribution of gates, the position of each individual gate, the positions and spacing of towers, and the water catchments. Advantages of the elevated site of Kerkenes for the foundation of a new capital within the region are demonstrated. The GPS data do not show statistically significant differences then the 1:25000 scaled topographic maps in regional scale, especially analyzing the elevation and slope data. Topographic analyses reveal that approximately 75% of the city wall coincides with the topographic divide which shows the city walls may serve both for urban water collection and for defence. City wall has divided into two as East section and West section by a north-south axis from the north end point of the city. There are 41 and 27 towers are detected on the West and East section, respectively. Towers on the West section are more closely spaced than the East section. There are also two and five gates in the West and East section, respectively. The East section of the city wall overlaps with the topographic divide only in the northeastern part. This situation can not be traced along the southeastern part of Kerkenes which may be the reason to include the strategically important two higher altitude areas (Kiremitlik and Kale) inside the city. The city wall in the West section, however, runs along the topographic divide which affects the number and the distribution of the towers.

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This is a final year project considering constructional techniques for joining cavity walls. The project is related to an ongoing scientific programme about the restoration of The City wall of Visby located on Gotland. The programme was set by Riksantikvarieämbetet as a reaction to a collapse of the outer masonry wall shell which took place in February 2012. The City wall of Visby is a medieval fortification built out of limestone during the 13th century. The wall is constructed as a cavity wall with two separate masonry shells connected to each other through an intermediate core. During the 14th century the wall was heightened which lead to a higher stress, especially in the outer wall face. This occurrence in combination with repeated frost bursts is most likely two of the reasons to why a part of the wall collapsed in 2012. The investigated techniques in this report are reconstructional masonry work using “through-stones”, wall ties out of steel and supportive buttresses. These techniques are investigated regarding their constructive actions and suitability for The City wall of Visby. Masonry work using “through-stones” consists of placing occasional masonry stones perpendicular to the remaining stones. In this way the two wall faces can be joined together. As well as “through-stones”, wall ties also provide a binding between the two wall faces. These ties can be made out of steel bars which ends are connected to each wall face. In this report wall ties are calculated considering tension in interaction with bending moment. A desirable quality for wall ties in this case is that they have the ability to follow the natural movements of the masonry wall without losing their binding capacity. Finally masonry buttresses are investigated, these are masonry units placed against the wall to support horizontal loadings. Buttresses vary in appearance; in this case they consist of limestone blocks laid against the wall face in a certain angle. Considering the state of equilibrium, adequate dimensions of the buttresses are defined. Calculations in this report are based on a number of assumptions regarding loading conditions of the wall combined with the specific constructional technique. Existing theories based on Eurocode’s are not always possible to apply on medieval constructions such as The City wall of Visby. The results in this report show that all mentioned techniques could be applied on The City wall of Visby if they are constructed with the right dimensions in combination with other preventive measures against problems due to water and frost. However, considering the fact that The City wall of Visby is a cultural heritage the suitability differs between the constructional techniques. / Detta examensarbete behandlar byggnadstekniska metoder med syftet att sammanbinda skalmurar. Arbetet utförs i samband med ett pågående forsknings- och utvecklingsprojekt rörande restaureringen av Visby ringmur på Gotland. Forskningsprojektet startades på uppdrag av Riksantikvarieämbetet efter ett murras i februari 2012. Visby ringmur är en medeltida befästning av gotländsk kalksten som till huvudsaklig del uppfördes under åren 1250-1288. Muren är konstruerad som en skalmur vilket innebär en icke homogen mur bestående av två murskal med mellanliggande kärna. Senare på 1300-talet förhöjdes muren vilket bidrog till en överbelastning av främst det yttre murskalet. Detta i kombination med upprepad frostsprängning är sannolikt två av orsakerna till murraset 2012. Metoderna som undersökts är ommurning med bindstenar, sammanbindning med kramlor och dragjärn samt uppstöttning med kontreforter. Dessa metoder studeras i fråga om verkningssätt samt lämplighet för Visby ringmur. Murning med bindstenar innebär att stenar med regelbundet mellanrum i ett murskift placeras tvärgående med kortsidan utåt, detta för att skapa en sammanbindning mellan murskalen i en skalmur. Kramlor och dragjärn ska även de verkar som förbindare mellan murskalen, de kan exempelvis utgöras av ett rundstål som infästs i vardera murskal. I rapporten undersöks dessa utifrån dragkraft i kombination med dess böjmoment. Önskvärt är att såväl kramlor som dragjärn ska kunna följa murens naturliga rörelser samtidigt som de ska sammanbinda murskalen. Slutligen undersöks kontreforter vilka muras mot skalmuren med syftet att ge stöd och uppta horisontala krafter. Kontreforter kan variera i utseende, i detta fall studeras kontreforter som muras av kalksten i vinkel mot murväggen. Med hjälp av ett jämviktsförhållande undersöks lämpliga dimensioner för kontreforterna. Alla beräkningar i denna rapport baseras på ett antal antaganden om lastförhållanden för muren i samverkan med vald byggnadsteknisk metod. Teorier enligt Eurokoderna inte är utformade för äldre murverkskonstruktioner och därav inte alltid tillämpbara. Resultaten visar att alla nämnda metoder skulle kunna tillämpas på muren om de utförs med lämpliga dimensioner i kombination med andra förebyggande åtgärder mot fukt- och frostproblemen. Dock skiljer sig lämpligheten för de olika metoderna åt med tanke på bevarandet av ringmurens kulturhistoriska värde.

Cette étude porte sur les systèmes défensifs d'une quarantaine de villes petites et moyennes, édifiés en Alsace centrale entre les XIIIe et XVe siècles, jusqu'à leur déclassement ou démantèlement définitif au XIXe siècle. Les ressources sollicitées sont de natures diverses : prospections des vestiges conservés, sondages archéologiques, documentation iconographique (plans, gravures, photographies anciennes), archives médiévales et modernes. Parmi ces dernières, une grande enquête sur l’état de conservation des enceintes des petites villes, bourgs et villages d’Alsace, initiée par le directeur des fortifications d’Alsace en 1779, livre un tableau exhaustif des systèmes fortifiés avant leur abandon. Les questions abordées portent sur les matériaux de construction, les diverses composantes de la défense (portes, murs, fossés, remparts...), les données topographiques et la chronologie des aménagements. Les enseignements majeurs, dans un domaine où seules les enceintes des grandes villes ont jusqu'à présent attiré l'attention, sont la diversité des réponses apportées au besoin de défense mais également des chronologies et types de structures qui n'ont rien à envier à ces grandes villes. Tout au moins jusqu'au XVIe siècle ; car sauf exception, ces villes petites et moyennes n'ont en effet pas pu prendre le virage du bastionnement des fortifications. Elles ont en revanche assez bien entretenu les structures héritées du Moyen Âge pour encore pouvoir être considérées comme des points d’appui dans la défense de la région par l'administration royale peu avant la Révolution. / This study deals with the defensive systems of three dozen small and middle-sized towns of central Alsace, from their building between the 13th and 15th Centuries, to their definitive dismantling during the 19th Century. Various resources were exploited : examination of existing remains, archaeological surveys, visual sources (maps, prints, old photographs), Middle Age and Modern period archives. The latter source included a major condition report on Alsace’s small cities, towns and villages, initiated by the province’s head of fortifications in 1779, which offers a complete overview of fortification systems before they were abandoned.The study addresses the questions of the construction materials used, the variety of defensive elements (doors, walls, moats, ramparts, etc.), topographical data and a chronology of their construction.The major teachings, in a field so far focused on large cities’ walls, are the broad range of solutions to the protective needs and the diversity of their chronology and layout models that are just as interesting as those of larger cities. This is noted until the 16th Century, when, with few exceptions, these small and middle-sized towns were not able toupgrade their defense to the level of bulwarks. Well maintained though, they were still seen as a major defensive support for the region by the royal administration, soon before the French revolution.