Transcript The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China
Construction
• The Great Wall is made
mostly out of granite and
bricks.
• In the Gobi Desert, the
workers would create
pounded earth to
continue building the
wall.
• Easily destroyed
Construction
• The Great Wall was
constructed with natural
materials such as stone and
compacted soil.
• The Great Wall took up 3
million cubic meters of earth
work.
Beliefs of the Great Wall
• Used to protect the Chinese.
The twist in the wall
represent the long back of
the mighty dragon!
• This was believed to be a
good omen
Purpose of the Great
Wall
• Prevent troops from the north
invading Chinese territory.
• Defend China from attacking
Mongols.
• Defense against ferocious
nomadic tribes.
• The Great Wall also embodies a
great deal of protection during a
battle.
Purpose of the Great
Wall
• Worked as a safeguard the Silk
Road trade.
• Housed troops.
Parts of the Great
Wall
• Watch towers were at
regular intervals of 180
meters on the wall.
• Held weapons, &house
troops
• Most signal towers were
built on hilly areas for
visibility.
Parts of the Great
Wall
• Beacon towers were spaced at
intervals of 15 to 30 miles along the
wall.
• Send messages faster than horse
riding.
• Some parts of the wall were
connected and made tougher for
further attacks.
Construction During the
Qin Dynasty
• Constructed the wall with just loose
stone.
• Constructed by a wooden rectangular
frame filled with loose soil.
• Workers stomp on the soil until it
was four inches thick.
History
• An important part to this process
was detritus.
• Detritus was used to make the
wall more solid and sturdy.
History
• The Han dynasty extended the
wall and made it more durable.
• Built in the the Gobi Desert.
• Started in 206 B.C.
Construction During the Han
Dynasty
• They used:
– Red willows, reeds and twigs.
– Mixed with water and gravel.
– Worked would stomp in the
mixture to make it dense.
– Repeated over and over.
History
• The Ming dynasty added the most
modifications and adjustments.
• Watch holes
• Used both the Qin and the Han dynasty’s
construction method.
Construction During the
Ming Dynasty
•
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•
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Add tampered earth.
Then add a layer of bricks.
This method was such a success.
They could build on steep mountains
and inclines of up to seventy degrees!
The Great Wall of China
Documentary
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLMVZ
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