Mar 10, 2016 20:40
8 yrs ago
French term

système de crémaillères

French to English Other Archaeology The Walled cities of the Swahili and the coastal fortifications in East Africa
L'enceinte urbaine de Pate est la plus grande de la côte orientale, elle clôt une surface de 27 hectares . La muraille, composée de moellons calcaires, fait 60cm d'épaisseur.

Son tracé est linéaire sur le côté Sud et suit le chenal. L'enceinte a quasiment disparue à l'Ouest.

Elle était défendue par un système de crémaillères, avec des saillants et des rentrants particulièrement visibles dans l'angle Nord-Ouest et sur le flanc Nord.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +2 system of indented/zigzag fortifications

Discussion

Howard Sugar Mar 11, 2016:
According to the era, the word in English could be the same word Crémaillère lines, (renaissance), indented batteries (American civil war for example, or indented lines (for offensive operations)
http://lly.org/~rcw/cwf/dictionary/xgl-009.html
cremaillere (ˌkreɪmaɪˈjɛə)
n
(Fortifications) a trench or fortification constructed in an indented or saw-tooth pattern (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cremaillere)

Proposed translations

+2
14 mins
Selected

system of indented/zigzag fortifications

Crémaillère
An indented or zigzagging line of entrenchment used in fortification.


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Note added at 16 mins (2016-03-10 20:57:25 GMT)
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"Saillants" is "salients".

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Note added at 26 mins (2016-03-10 21:07:32 GMT)
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An entrenchment is a bank of earth and/or a trench. I would say "indented/zigzag entrenchments".
Peer comment(s):

agree Tony M
13 mins
agree Charles Davis : Indented lines. Or jogs. Or crémaillère lines: http://lly.org/~rcw/cwf/dictionary/xgl-009.html
18 mins
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Perfect. Thanks everyone."
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