Heritage sites, Archaeological discoveries, History of Archaeology

Defence Line of Amsterdam

Location

Noord-Holland

Country

Netherlands

Year of Research

1996

Culture

Extending 135 km around the city of Amsterdam, this defence line (built between 1883 and 1920) is the only example of a strengthen based on the principle of controlling the waters.

Since the 16th century, the people of the Netherlands have used their expert minds of hydraulic engineering for defence purposes. The centre of the country was protected by a network of 45 armed forts, acting in concert with temporary flooding from polders and an intricate system of canals and locks.

It is considering that the site is of excavating universal value as it is an exceptional example of an extensive integrated defence system of the modern period which has survived intact and well conserved since it was created in the later 19th century.

It is also important for the unique way in which the Dutch genius for hydraulic engineering has been linked into the defences of the nation's capital city.