Humans have relied on waterfront protection barrier systems for a very long time. The oldest known seawall is at the edge of a 7,000-year-old village on the coast of Israel. This seawall was approximately 330 feet long and built in a dog-leg pattern with boulders transported from a nearby river. Although seawall engineering has advanced with time, protective waterfront structures have followed the same basic forms for centuries.
“During the time of occupation the area to the west of the seawall would have been a swash zone, a beach area that is alternately covered and exposed by up-rush and backwash of waves. This area is therefore exposed to spray and threatened by storm surge and wave run-up. Given its nature, location, and orientation, we propose that the boulder-built seawall was probably constructed to protect the Tel Hreiz settlement from swash-zone encroachment.” Read more here…
– PLOS ONE Journal
While that seawall has since deteriorated and only remnants remain, today’s seawall owners have access to the latest in seawall stabilization and preservation methods. Property owners should immediately take action upon noticing any of the four critical warning signs of seawall failure. These four warning signs are: soil depressions near the seawall, rust stains on the surface, movement or shifting of any part of the wall, and cracks in the concrete.