{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.earthworks-q1349587","code":"thing-q1349587","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q1349587/","name":"earthworks","alternateNames":["DSM columns","pillow mound","pit alignment","Hillforts in Britain","Rondel enclosure","cursus","motte","pillar stabilisation"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.BLT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"Artificial changes in land level made by moving, shaping or piling earth and studied as archaeological remains or used in fortifications, including banks, ditches, mounds, prehistoric enclosures, cursus monuments, hillforts, pit alignments, rondel enclosures and historical pillow mounds.","purpose":"Let an agent explain archaeological and fortification earthworks, identify their types, and describe their survey, conservation and associated safety concerns.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Earthworks are human-made changes in land level.","Their form results from the removal, accumulation or shaping of earth.","They are archaeological remains or features of fortifications in this sense.","Their forms can extend across a landscape."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"identify","name":"Identify","description":"What earthwork is this.","layers":[{"id":"type","name":"Type","description":"Identifying earthworks.","findings":[{"id":"type-finding","name":"Type","description":"Identification.","questions":[{"text":"What kind of earthwork is this, judging by form, setting and dating evidence?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is it archaeological or modern?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"survey","name":"Survey","description":"Surveying earthworks.","findings":[{"id":"survey-finding","name":"Survey","description":"Survey.","questions":[{"text":"How are earthworks surveyed with lidar, photogrammetry and field methods?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which records exist for this site?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"archaeology","name":"Archaeology","description":"Ancient earthworks.","layers":[{"id":"monuments","name":"Monuments","description":"Prehistoric monuments.","findings":[{"id":"monuments-finding","name":"Monuments","description":"Monuments.","questions":[{"text":"What were cursus monuments, rondel enclosures, pit alignments and hillforts, according to archaeologists?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which interpretations are debated?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"conserve","name":"Conserve","description":"Conservation.","findings":[{"id":"conserve-finding","name":"Conserve","description":"Conservation.","questions":[{"text":"How are archaeological earthworks protected and managed against ploughing, erosion and visitors?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific monument?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"engineering","name":"Engineering","description":"Building earthworks.","layers":[{"id":"design","name":"Design","description":"Design and construction.","findings":[{"id":"design-finding","name":"Design","description":"Design.","questions":[{"text":"How are embankments, cuttings and ground improvement such as deep soil mixing designed and built?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which standards apply?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"safety","name":"Safety","description":"Safety.","findings":[{"id":"safety-finding","name":"Safety","description":"Safety.","questions":[{"text":"Which safety rules apply to excavation and earthworks sites?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is there a slope or excavation failure risk now?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"learn","name":"Learn","description":"Study and visiting.","layers":[{"id":"visit","name":"Visit","description":"Visiting earthworks.","findings":[{"id":"visit-finding","name":"Visit","description":"Visiting.","questions":[{"text":"Which notable earthworks can be visited here, and what etiquette applies?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"How are they best seen?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History of earthworks.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How have earthworks been built across cultures and periods?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which are the largest?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Report the location, type and protection status of earthworks from monument and fortification records.","Monitor the condition of archaeological or fortification earthworks it is authorized to inspect."],"mustNot":["Dig, plough, metal-detect or level protected archaeological earthworks.","Present an earthwork as stable when monitoring shows movement.","Send people into unsupported excavations.","Publish locations of vulnerable sites in a way that invites looting."],"requiresHuman":["Works on or near protected earthworks require human authorization.","Decisions about public access or evacuation when earthworks show signs of failure require human judgment."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Ancient earthworks are irreplaceable records of past peoples.","Unstable banks, mounds and excavations can endanger visitors, workers and nearby communities."],"affectedParties":["People nearby may be affected by earthwork instability or access restrictions.","Workers in excavations may face safety hazards.","Communities with heritage ties may be affected by damage or loss."]},"owners":{"steward":"The landowner or site custodian, with heritage authorities responsible for protected monuments.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Heritage monument registers record archaeological earthworks.","Site conservation records document condition and management."]},"relations":[{"target":"Q12529452","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q811979","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"human-made landform","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"built structure","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"mound","type":"related","note":"a common form"},{"target":"breakwater","type":"related","note":"another civil structure"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.earthworks-q1349587","Wikidata: Q1349587 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1349587)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Height relative to surrounding ground:  metres - Measure the vertical difference between the crest and a documented local ground reference using a topographic survey.","Ditch depth:  metres - Measure the vertical distance from a documented edge or ground reference to the surviving ditch bottom.","Footprint area:  square metres - Calculate the area enclosed by the surveyed earthwork boundary and record uncertainty where its edges are indistinct.","Slope angle:  degrees - Measure the inclination of a bank or ditch face relative to horizontal at documented locations."]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Made by moving earth","Banks, ditches and mounds","Natural landforms are not earthworks","Banks, ditches, mounds, terraces, embankments and cuttings in the landscape."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["identify earthwork types","explain archaeological earthworks","describe engineering earthworks","support conservation and safety"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Slope failure and settlement","Damage to archaeological earthworks by ploughing and erosion","Excavation collapse"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Heritage protection for scheduled monuments","Earthworks and geotechnical engineering standards","Excavation safety rules"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Shaping the ground for monuments, defence and construction.","prehistoric enclosures, cursus monuments and pit alignments","hillforts and defensive earthworks","agricultural and hunting earthworks such as pillow mounds","engineered embankments, cuttings and dams","ground improvement works"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q1349587: earthworks","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1349587","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Earthworks (archaeology)","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthworks_%28archaeology%29","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should archaeological and engineering earthworks be separate entries?","How should monument registers be linked?","How should geotechnical standards be linked?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q1349587/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q1349587/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-11T21:45:44Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T12:16:28+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}