Dictionary Definition
revetment
Noun
1 a barrier against explosives
2 a facing (usually masonry) that supports an
embankment [syn: revetement, stone
facing]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Noun
- A layer of stone, concrete, or other hard material supporting the side of an embankment.
- An armoured building that provides protection against bombs.
Extensive Definition
Revetments are structures placed on banks or
cliffs in such a way as to absorb the energy of incoming water or
explosives. They are usually built to preserve the existing uses of
the shoreline and to protect the slope, as defense against erosion,
bombs or artillery, or to secure an area from stored
explosives.
Freshwater Revetments
Many revetments are used to line the banks of
freshwater rivers, lakes, and man-made reservoirs, especially to
prevent damage during periods of floods or heavy seasonal rains
(see riprap).
Fortifications
According to the U.S. National
Park Service, and referring mostly to their employment in the
American
Civil War, a revetment is defined as a "retaining wall
constructed to support the interior slope of a parapet. Made of
logs, wood planks, fence rails, fascines, gabions, hurdles, sods, or
stones, the revetment provided additional protection from enemy
fire, and, most importantly, kept the interior slope nearly
vertical. Stone revetments commonly survive. A few log revetments
have been preserved due to high resin pine or cypress and porous
sandy soils. After an entrenchment was abandoned, many log or rail
revetments were scavenged for other uses, causing the interior
slope to slump more quickly. An interior slope will appear more
vertical if the parapet eroded with the revetment still in place."