Quantitative study on the three-dimensional defense of Puzhuang Suo-Fort ancient wall and the moat

Shenge Shen; Lifeng Tan; Cheng Wang; Pengfei Zhao; Huanjie Liu; Jiayin Zhou; Yinggang Wang; Hong Yuan

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0282537

Quantitative study on the three-dimensional defense of Puzhuang Suo-Fort ancient wall and the moat

PLoS One. 2023 Mar 2;18(3):e0282537. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282537. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Shenge Shen¹, Lifeng Tan^{1

2}, Cheng Wang^{1

2}, Pengfei Zhao³, Huanjie Liu¹, Jiayin Zhou¹, Yinggang Wang¹, Hong Yuan¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Architecture, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.
² Department of Architecture, Tianjin Chengjian University, Tianjin, China.
³ Department of Architecture, Shandong Jianzhu University, Jinan, Shandong, China.

Abstract

The spatial layout of the coastal forts defense system of the Ming Dynasty of China has been studied in a relatively comprehensive way. Nonetheless, ancient defense mechanisms have not been fully revealed. Previous studies have focused more on the macro and meso levels. Studies into its microscopic construction mechanism need to be enhanced. This research attempts to quantify and validate the rationality of the ancient microscopic defense mechanism, using the ancient defense mechanism of Pu Zhuang Suo-Fort in Zhejiang Province as an instance. This study concentrates on the distribution of firepower strength beyond the walls of coastal defense forts, as well as the effect of wall height on firepower defense capabilities. There is a specific firepower attenuation area near the walls due to the firing blind area in the coastal forts defense system. And the construction of the moat plays an additive role in its defensive capability. Meanwhile, the height of the fort wall will also affect the range of the firing blind zone under Yangmacheng. In theory, there is a reasonable height range of the wall and a proper position of the moat. This height range can meet both good economy and defensive capabilities. In turn, the position of the moats and the height of the walls can verify the rationality of the construction mechanism of the coastal forts' defense system.

Copyright: © 2023 Shen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Grants and funding

(1) Specific grant number: 52078324 Initials of authors who received it: L. T., J. Z. Name of the foundation: National Natural Science Foundation of China Name of the funded project: Research on the system constitution and impact mechanism of the coastal defense fortification in Ming dynasty URL to the fund’s website: https://www.nsfc.gov.cn/ Role of funder: The fund was used to purchase experimental equipment and intellectual property, to do field research, to collect data, etc. (2) Specific grant number: 19JZD056 Initials of authors who received it: L. T., J.Z., H. L. Name of the foundation: Ministry of Education Key Projects of Philosophy and Social Sciences Research Name of the funded project: Research on China's Maritime Heritage URL to the fund’s website: http://www.moe.gov.cn/ Role of funder: The fund was used to purchase experimental equipment and intellectual property, to do field research, to collect data, etc.