HOW Was the Great Wall Built?
This section provides some simple facts about how the Great Wall of China was constructed.
First we need to remember that the Wall was built over a very long time span,
over a great distance,
and over some very tough terrain.
Just imagine building a wall here!!!
The Great Wall was built during the Qin, Han, and Ming Dynasties.
Techniques changed, but the idea remained the same.
Here is how it was done.
The Qin Dynasty
During the Qin Dynasty much of the
construction of the Wall was done in the wilderness where workers had to rely on
local materials. They used stone where they could get it, and laid it
dry. But the stone was sometimes scarce, and the builders had to rely on a
tamped earth method of building the Wall. They would build simple wooden
frames, fill them with dirt, and pack the dirt with great weights drug over
the surface. This was the end result.
As you can see the result was rather crude.
The Han Dynasty
Building during the Han Dynasty crossed the Gobi Desert where once again the terrain forced specific building methods. The sandy soil and harsh terrain required an ancient painstaking method of building. First, a bed of twigs and willow reeds were placed in the bottom of a wooden frame. Then water and fine gravel were mixed in and allowed to dry. Here is the result of many of these layers being built on top of one another.
Still the result is crude. But this wall was more effective.
Beacon towers were added during this time as well. They were placed 15-30 miles apart and were used to transfer smoke signals down the length of the Wall.
The Ming Dynasty
New techniques for firing bricks made the modern Great Wall a more impressive feat of engineering. The interior was still filled by tamped earth, but it is encased in a layer of brick that makes the Wall stronger as well as more attractive. This is what it looks like.
Here is a diagram of Ming laborers firing bricks.
Another diagram illustrates how earth was moved up to be packed in the Wall.
These pictures show how improved building methods helped create a better Wall.
Today the Wall no longer does much to protect against invaders, but it remains one of the greatest feats of engineering ever completed.
To fully answer the Question "HOW" was the Great Wall of China built something has to be said about the people who built the wall. For example during the Qin Dynasty some three million people were involved in the construction of the wall. That was about 70% of China's population at that time. The death toll was great. More than one million people died in the completion of the first 3000 mile section. That adds up to about 300 people for every mile of that section..
Here are some links that will help you to further study the Wall. Much of the information on this page comes from these sites.
http://www.discovery.com/stories/history/greatwall/greatwall.html
http://www.snowcrest.net/jmike/china.html