Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol.

32, No, 3, 1995

HISTORY OF PILE FOUNDATION ENGINEERING

V. M. Ulitskii U D C 624.154

The entire history of mankind from the position of the development of foundation engineering, which includes such
an important trend as construction on piles, can be traced with extreme interest and an unconventional foreshortening. As
they emerged from caves, ancient peoples began to construct their own dwellings. They wandered from place to place;
buildings were destroyed, while the foundations remained, The odyssey of time is particularly perceptible in countries of the
Near East, where even at the time of Christ and much earlier, major attention was focused on selection of a "strong point"
for construction. This has been reflected in individual proverbs. There can be no doubt that geotechnics has always been
required, and geotechnical matters critical. Of the seven wonders of the world, some E~fptian pyramids actually remain.
Time has not been kind to the treasures of human civilization.
In January 1995, I was presented with the possibility of clearing doubts in the ruins of the world's oldest city -
Jericho (now the capital of Palestinian autonomy). I imagined the construction of these failed foundations. It was said in the
bible that the walls of the city collapsed to the bed itself. I understood perfectly that the walls failed not from the sound of
trumpets, but over an inexorable time of 5000 years. The width of the foundations that remained were impressive, and could
represent the volumes of the walls and their enormous height. Whole streets of just foundations exist nearby. No one has yet
answered the questions when did they disappear, and where did the people go. The foundations have preserved the mysteries
of the ancient dead city. I walked through the streets and observed the configurations of the dwellings, business and cultural
buildings, wells, and water conduits. With appropriate off-the-shelf repair, some of these conduits serve even today. One
foundation here was probably unearthed by modem treasure hunters. Structurally, the foundation is simple - a rectangular
cushion formed from durable stones and a single vertical block (100% assembly long before our era). The ancient city is
situated in a river valley, where dense soils recede, and wooden decay (what had once been stakes for strengthening) -
ancestors of modem piles - - is observed under the foundation slabs. Had they remained under water, they would have been
preserved until our time. Evidently the water departed, and then the people.
In ancient times, people settled in river valleys on a stratum of weak soils, peats, and on flood-prone sections. The
first types of piles in the form of stilts were used as early as the late Neolithic Period. Similar buildings have been preserved
in eastern Europe, for example, in the Black Forest, Volhynia, and Poland. Some villages and settlements were built directly
on peat covered with a layer of brush wood, and strong fortifications around them on wooden piles. In the modern ~stone"
age, buildings on piles, which were raised on rivers and lakes, were massive. These structures were also convenient in
defensive respects. More than 400 pile settlements in Switzerland, Southern Germany, and Northern Italy are familiar
monuments. Deffmitive engineering preparation and a high level of organization of pile operations were undoubtedly required
for such a volume.
Here, it is possible to reminisce on the strong fortification around the Novgorod Kremlin on the bank of the Volkhov
River. During construction, wood was used to reinforce the stratum of weak soils and for the driving of piles. Interesting
engineering solutions employed by our ancestors for construction were exposed in an archeological dig.
One can ultimately doubt whether this was a pile in the understanding of modem specialists-geotechniciaus; one can
state with assurance, however, that a pile technology was developed even in ancient Rome. Paramilitary formations, which
constructed buildings, roads, and bridges across rivers moved throughout Europe after wars-conquerors. It should also be
pointed out that the technologies developed in ancient Rome were preserved until the end of the 18th century. As a military
skill, pile foundation engineering has been gradually refined, and yes, the term "pilium" in a literal transcription means a
"heavy legionnaire's lance."
It is known that ancient sources of information on foundation engineering are the recommendations of Vitruvia, and
detailed descriptions of bridge construction compiled by Caesar.

Translated from Osnovaniya, Fundamenty i Mekhanika Gruntov, No. 3, pp. 35-38, May-June, 1995.

110 0038-0741/95/3203-0110512.50 9 Plenum Publishing Corporation

 .y "

Fig. 1 Fig. 2

Fig. 1. First experience with development of no-waste technology for installation of wooden
piles.

Fig. 2. Simplest pile-driving unit.

Vitruvia wrote that k is possible to achieve strong beds with either specially prepared oak piles, or piles formed from
precalcined alder and olive wood. It was recommended to build the walls around the pile grillages from stones with a
maximum possible length and dressing of the joints. Vitruvia described the simplest machines, and the kinematics of the
winches and blocks used. These notions and technologies were preserved for a very long time; this suggests the definite
wisdom of the builders.
Ceasar's description of the construction of wooden bridges - passages across broad rivers for Roman troops when
piles were driven even with flotation facilities - can be referred to as a classical reference on piles. Time has confuaned the
reliability and longevity of the foundations built from piles by ancient Roman builders in very different soil regions of
Europe, Asia, and Africa.
An illustration of ancient manuscripts revealing the organization of the simplest driving of a pile is shown in Fig. 1.
Was this not no-waste technology? Here, even the chips were swept up and used to calcine the piles, which makes it possible
to enhance preservation of the wood. A pile-driving mechanism recommended by German military instructions of the 14th
century on engineering matters is shown in Fig. 2.
Embankments on piles in Southern England, yes, even in London itself, have served successfully for many years
after the fall of the Roman Empire. Even after reconstruction work, individual fragments have been preserved to our time
with the use of wooden piles. There are frequent cases when ancient pile fragments of the time of the Roman Empire were
used to build new structures in the Middle Ages. Part of the old walls of London is supported on ancient oak piles from
which a preparation of coarse-skeleton material 2.6-3.3 m thick was made.
The foundation under a cathedral church in Strasbourg (Fig. 3) is of interest. The right side of the foundation, which
was built on piles by ancient Roman builders, was preserved. Sanitation studies, which were performed in 1918, exposed a
large volume of these foundations, and confLrmed their preservation and reliability for over 16 centuries. D.igs in the Baunard
Castle in London (1974-1976) indicated that the basic bearing walls also rest on piles driven in the 4th century by Roman
builders. Existing in water, the piles preserved their strength and may serve for some time to come.
A bridge 30 m in length, which was constructed in the 9th century on 70 piles, has been preserved in Moravia. Many
engineering structures on piles have been preserved on the Lower Rhine. There is, perhaps, no region on the earth where
piles have not been used. European experience, where our domestic experience has been introduced, supplements American
experience. In a beginners course for civil engineers of America (18th century), recommendations are given for the driving
of long wooden piles. Here, piles are included and separated according to driving in a certain order in avoiding their
"extrusion. ~ These studies are now urgent, since the upheaval of neighboring already-in-place piles appreciably lowers the
bearing capacity during driving.

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 .55 ,~
-- v~ '-I-! "; "

b" ~.o.++*.+*~~.".'J;':

I
I I--+--
o ! 2 '3 ~. 5m

Fig. 3. Foundation of church in Strasbourg

(France) using ancient-Roman piles. 1)
Roman foundation; 2) 19th century founda-
tion; 3) clay; 4) crushed stone, sand, hu-
mus; 5) crushed stone; 6) ground water.

The lengths of piles have increased gradually and the six-meter limit was surmounted only in the 18th century.
Studies associated with the driving of wooden piles, which were the most significant in terms of volume, were
conducted in the 18th-19th centuries in England and Germany, as well as Russia during the construction of Saint Petersburg.
Hundreds of thousands of piles were driven during construction of the Kronstadt forts. Russian military engineers made a
major contribution to the technolo~y of installing wooden piles. It is a pity that these forts - the pride of Russian engineering
thought and technique - have come into a state of neglect. These are ready-made structures for a museum of the history on
construction engineering.
In preparing this paper, I have become acquainted with theoretical and technological studies on pile foundations and
pile-driving equipment of centuries past. In recent years, several dissertations on the history of geotechnics and construction
on piles have been defended in England and Germany. Despite a century and more of history, separate studies and proposals
are urgent even today. Thus, a German patent (Gerrist, 1595) lowers the demand for people to seven persons as opposed to
the modem instruction for the driving of piles.
A large number of studies on pile foundations were published in the 18th century, when the results of pile tests were
brought to light. As early as the outset of the 19th century, Woltmaun and Rytelwein published an equation for the dynamic
driving of piles, which had been used to the start of the 20th century. Belidor proposed a mechanism for the driving of
inclined piles and an equation for the impact effect of a hammer, and focused attention on the little-understood problem of the
uplift of piles in clayey soils with a certain consistency as new piles are driven near piles already in place. Christofer, a
Swedish geotechnician of the 18th century [Polhem], proposed to conduct experimental testing of several piles in selecting a
construction site. Among other things, he stipulated the risk of decay for pile heads due to a possible drop in the water level
and left them at a significant depth during construction of the Korolevskii Palace.
Unfortunately, the Korolevskii palace in Sweden has already sustained the first deformations due to decay of pile caps
as ground water table (GWT) has dropped in recent years in connection with active use of the underground space.
Perronet has proposed metallic augers for exposing soil conditions- and deriving the design bearing capacity of piles.
He warned of the danger of supporting piles on thin layers of dense soils, which were detected during testing. He produced
significant building settlements, although single piles possessed a high bearing capacity with respect m both calculation and
data derived from field tests. It was dangerous to leave a large group of short piles in strong soils underlain by weak ones. In
order that subsequent piles not affect piles already in place, he recommended that they be driven from the midpoint of the

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 TABLE 1
Position; Type of defect Causes of development
i in Fig.41
I Destmcturing of brickwork Annual freezing and thawing of
above edge of foundation weit~ masonry. Moistening of
m~gn.ry above edge occurs as
result of uplifting of cultivated layer
II Corrosion of metallic, or decay Elevated humidity in basements,
of wooden beams in floor above lack of ventilation, disturbance
basement. of waterproofing for walls and floors
III Failureof anti-capillary water- Aging of material, brittleness
proofing of brick wails of old w~i~roofing
IV Disturbance'of waterproofing of Mechanical dama~zesustained in
basement floor excavating trenches and punching
holes in fl~or
v Decay of wooden foundation Lowering of GWT or increase in
beams water temperature due to leakages
from heating system
Vl Disturbanceof waterproofing f~ Poor sealing of inlei areas for utilities.
wall in areas where utilities are failure of old waterproofing layer
laid
VII Failureof mortar in masonry agg'rcssivenessof aeration of under-
joints ~round water. Reduction in strength of
.mortar 0~,er time; leaching of n~brtar
VIII Rott.;ng df heads of wooded" Loweringof GWT. increase in water
piles temperature, ftmgal diseases of wood

%2 _~" : "~ A.

~& ,____..~. ". . . ...~.."

JJ I

Fig. 4. Traditional designs of foundations of ancient buildings with characteristic defects

(see Table 1). a) On natural bed with wooden piles; b) on piles. 1) Wall masonry; 2) floor
over basement; 3) pile passing through foundation; 4) rubblestone in mortar; 5) basement
floor; 6) waterproofing of floor; 7) wooden foundation beams; 8) rubblework; 9) foundation
waterproofing; 10) GWT at time of reconstruction; 11) GWT at time of construction; 12)
old grading elevation; 13) new grading elevation with uplifting of cultivated layer; 14) old
anti-capillary waterproofing; 15) wooden piles; 16) wooden grillage.

building toward the edges. His theory is debatable and has not alwaysmet with success; this was, however, at the outset of
the 18th century.
Studies on the calculation of pile refusal, the bearing capacity of piles, and the inclusion of a grillage into the overall
performance of the foundation in lieu of the driving of long piles subsequently appeared. During the installation of piles in a
deep stratum of weak soil (Woltmant, 1799, Beytrage sur hydraulischen Azehitectur, Vol. 4), k was proposed to fill the
space between pile heads with cobblestone or a tamped coarse-skeleton soil. It was proposed to place large stones in a lime
mortar from above.
Was everything safe with construction on wooden piles? Evidently, no documents on emergencies in ancient times
have been preserved. In the archives of the library of the Civil-Engineering Institute in London and in Saint Petersburg, there
are materials on the number of emergencies that developed with the walls of docks in England, India, and Russia in connec-
tion with the incorrect estimation of the bearing capacity of piles.

113
 Serious situations have occurred at the Liverpool Dock. Studies on reconstruction indicated that old wooden piles
(beech, elm, larch) had decayed and lost strength.
Undoubtedly, everything has been brought to bear on the fate of many buildings of Moscow and Saint Petersburg,
which were constructed from the 17th through the 19th centuries on wooden piles and foundation-beam/floats. Actually,
individual buildings sustained unpredicted settlements due to the rotting of foundation beams as the GWT dropped. I system-
atized the defects of foundations on piles and foundation beams (Fig. 4, Table 1), which may be useful to building-mainte-
nance personnel and geotechnicians occupied with the reconstruction of buildings and engineered restorations of monuments.
Of the largest and most well-known monuments to the architecture of Saint Petersburg, in whose inspections I participated,
the beds and foundations of the Roman Catholic Church of Saint Catherine (32-34 Neva Avenue), Yusupovskii Palaces on
Moika Hill and Neva Avenue, and the Rumyantsev Palace on Angliisk Hill had to be strengthened due to decay of foundation
beams and piles. A total of more than 60 unique buildings - monuments to Saint Petersburg, Archangel, Vologda, etc., were
strengthened.
In this paper, I do not dwell on the contribution made by domestic scientists in the establishment of pile foundation
engineering. Their contributions undoubtedly have been great, a fact borne out by international conferences on pile foundation
engineering, active work performed by International Working Committee TS-18 on Pile Foundations with the participation of
domestic specialists, and the large volume of literature dealing with the calculation of reinforced-concrete piles and the
technology of their installation.
I t is possible to point out only that over the past 30 years, pile foundations have drawn foundations close to the
natural bed. Domestic researchers A. A. Bartolomei, B. V. Baldaoldin, N. M. Gersevanov, V. N. Golubkov, B. I. Dalmatov,
F. K. Lapshin, and A. V. Potapov have made major contributions toward the establishment of foundation engineering. In the
matter of refining technologies, it is possible to point out studies conducted by E. L. Khlebnikov, A. A. Pugya, D. A.
Romanov, E. M. Perlei, et at. It becomes somewhat alarming, however, when it is proposed to implement the design of high
buildings in Saint Petersburg with the fabrication of piles 100 m in length. Let us hope that the fears are unfounded, and the
ftrst "skyscraper" of Saint Peterburg "Peter the Great" on piles 100 m long will adorn the silhouette of the northern metropo-
lis, just as the Isaakievskii Cathedral, which is built on 12,000 piles 6-8 m long, has embellished it for a century and a half.

114