Excavations in the Pskov Kremlin in 2016

В 2016 г. в Псковском кремле проведены археологические раскопки, в результате которых получены новые данных о современном состоянии фундаментов фортификационных сооружений, уточнены границы некоторых раскопов прошлых лет и габариты реставрационных траншей 1950-1960-х гг. Кроме того, получена новая информация по истории крепостного строительства, продолжено исследование древнейших культурных напластований Крома с учетом современных методических требований. Важнейшими открытиями можно считать фиксацию участка первоначальных стен города (XI в.) и культурных отложений на краю площадки городища, сформировавшихся до постройки укреплений; выявление жилища с многослойными глинобитными полами и признаками неоднократного (многолетнего) переустройства очажных конструкций. The archaeological excavations carried out in the Pskov Kremlin in 2016 resulted in obtaining the new data about current state of the fortification foundationS. The boundaries of some previous excavations and the restoration trenches' dimensions of the 1950s and 1960s years were also clarified. New information on the history of fortress construction was obtained, and the studies of the oldest cultural layers of Chrome were continued in accordance with modern methodological requirementS. The most important discoveries include fixation of the original city walls section (11 century) and cultural deposits on the edge of the settlement site, formed before the construction of fortifications; identification of housing with multi-layered adobe floors and traces of repeated (multi-year) reconstruction of hearth structures.

Amersfoort’s city walls

The development of Amersfoort’s two city walls can be divided into five periods. The first city wall was built in the first period 1259-1379. Although Amersfoort had been granted a charter in 1259, construction of the wall did not commence until after a serious assault by troops from the duchy of Gelre (Geulders) in 1274. The defensive wall was made stronger on that side, probably in expectation of more attacks from that direction. Between 1380 and 1500 Gelre troops attacked Amersfoort on multiple occasions and offensive firepower increased. Interestingly, Amersfoort opted to build a second city wall rather than reinforcing the existing one, considerably increasing the size of the city in the process. However, the project proved difficult to finance, defend and maintain, most likely due to the stagnating economy. Instead of being demolished after the second wall was in place, the first wall was reinforced with abutting houses, thereby becoming a kind of rampart within a rampart. The new fortifications turned out to be ineffective and in 1501 the city council decided to demolish the first city wall. This freed up space for a second generation of wall houses, mostly built from reused stone and with their front elevation on the trajectory of the first wall, with the exception of the houses along Krankeledenstraat and the southern section of Breestraat. In this same period, up until 1644, there was an attempt to strengthen Amersfoort’s defences. Several fortification plans were drawn up, none of which was implemented in its entirety, most probably due to a lack of financial resources. The ramparts that were realized are concentrated in the south-west since in this period the possibility of a new Spanish incursion was greater than any threat from Gelre. In the third period, 1645-1828, the council’s approval of additional openings in the city wall marked the beginning of a gradual deterioration of the defensive works. They had always been a big budget item, yet they had not been particularly effective. Accordingly, the council decided to convert the fortifications into lucrative functions. The Davidsbolwerk, for example, was turned into a cemetery. The most extensive demolition probably started in 1778 when it was also decided to dismantle various outer and inner gates in the second city wall. By 1829 the fortifications had entirely lost their defensive function and the city council proposed converting the outer line into a green pathway encircling the city, which would have resulted in the disappearance of all remaining traces of the wall. However, this was averted in 1844 by a national ban on the demolition of fortifications and they were subsequently integrated with the walking route. City planners continued to submit applications for demolition but encountered fierce resistance from heritage organizations. In addition, many remnants avoided demolition because most urban expansion occurred outside the historical centre. This resulted in a concomitant shift in the economic focus so that the fortifications no longer needed to be sacrificed to industrial development. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, with appreciation for the heritage value of fortifications growing, money became available for their restoration and Amersfoort’s historical centre was declared a conservation area.

Who Owned Florence?: Religious Institutions and Property Ownership in the Early Modern City

This study employs a 1561 tax census to survey estimated property incomes in Florence with particular attention to lay and ecclesiastical religious institutions. Its key findings are five. First, religious institutions were collectively the wealthiest corporate entities in the city, holding one fifth of all residential properties and one third of all workshops, and drawing 20.2 percent of all property income generated within city walls. Second, many were civic- and lay-religious institutions such as confraternities and hospitals. Third, the property income of religious houses was distributed across multiple organizations while that held by the Florentine diocese was concentrated in a few. Fourth, among religious orders, Mendicant houses had a larger urban presence than the older contemplative houses. Fifth, the property holdings of the formally defunct military-religious order of the Knights of S. Jacopo signal the deftness with which some institutions adapted to new circumstances. Overall, this survey of property incomes helps quantify the shape of power in the Florentine religious universe.

The Fortifications of Areas CC and BC at Tel Lachish

During the Fourth Expedition to Tel Lachish in the years 2014-2017 a series of fortifications was uncovered in Area CC, in the center of the northern edge of the mound. In addition to the previously known city walls of Levels I–IV, the expedition discovered a new city wall, built in Level V and dated to the late 10th and the first half of the 9th centuries BCE.

The Walls Come Down

This chapter discusses John Ferrar's history of Limerick which reflected on the ending of the city's final siege in 1691. It notes that the achievement of a hundred years of peace from the 1690s to the 1790s was one of the defining characteristics of eighteenth-century Ireland. The chapter then looks at the disappearance of defensive walls from most of the larger urban centers. These walls were old and by Continental standards quite tame structures, both in height and in mass. It also analyzes how both entry gates and much of the connected walling had vanished from Irish cities by 1800. In their prime, city walls had defined the intangibles of civic identity and corporate prestige. The chapter argues that the disappearance of city walls was a deliberate and often controversial process that reflected the progressive subjugation of city communities to the princely state and its military priorities. The chapter then shifts focus on to how urban defences had continued to shape military outcomes in the course of the seventeenth century — particularly the case in the northernmost city of Derry.