Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Military history/Fortifications task force/Archive 2

Edinburgh Castle
I have put Edinburgh Castle up for Peer Review, any comments welcome here. Thanks, Jonathan Oldenbuck (talk) 20:30, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

Several articles about forts
Hello there! I have a few questions and the Fortifications task force sounds like the experts I was looking for. Recently, I started a few new articles about forts, they were split off from longer articles in order to shorten them. They are all stub and start class for the Wikiproject Tennessee plus one list class article.

Fort Adair, Fort Assumption, Fort Prudhomme, Fort Randolph (Tennessee), Fort Wright (Tennessee) and the List of forts in Tennessee are the articles in question. First of all I am not sure what the standards are to include articles in the WikiProject: Military history or if it is desired that the article creator adds the banner and picks the task force, so I did not include that banner on the talk page. If you find time to check the articles for obvious errors and decide whether they are in the scope of the military history project, that would be great!

The List of forts in Tennessee I split off the List of forts. That list is pretty long and I decided to transfer the Tennessee section to an article of its own. It seems that there are several dozens more forts in Tennessee, so there is a great potential to add new items to the list. I have only included those forts that have a corresponding Wikipedia article. What I do not like is that the list does not have a proper introduction. A few sentences about what a fort is and what kind of forts there are in Tennessee. It looks like there are many technical terms and if I, as a non-expert, tried it myself I would probably mess up more than I would help. As I said earlier, if someone finds the time to look over it and let me know suggestions for improvement or for a short text as an introduction, that would be great. Thank you very much! doxTxob \ talk 23:57, 5 March 2009 (UTC)
 * They're in our scope for sure, but I don't know anything about forts, so I can't help with the second thing. :/ — Ed 17  (Talk /  Contribs)  01:42, 6 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Thank you for your prompt reply! I have placed the template on the talk pages of the articles mentioned above and on the talk page of three articles that were on the List of forts in Tennessee and that were not included in the Military history project. Those that were tagged already, I left unaltered. I have added the banner to these articles not mentioned above: Tellico Blockhouse, Fort Southwest Point, Bledsoe's Station. I hope that's the right way to do it and the three additional candidates are appropriate. Thank you for your assistance! doxTxob \ talk 02:33, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

Article alerts
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Thanks. — Headbomb {{{sup|ταλκ}}κοντριβς – WP Physics} 09:10, 15 March, 2009 (UTC)

Changes to popular pages lists
There are a few important changes to the popular pages system. A quick summary: -- Mr.Z-man 23:58, 11 July 2009 (UTC)
 * The "importance" ranking (for projects that use it) will be included in the lists along with assessment.
 * The default list size has been lowered to 500 entries (from 1000)
 * I've set up a project on the Toolserver for the popular pages - ~alexz/pop/.
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 * The data is now retained indefinitely.
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Tower house
I am concerned that the Tower house article is becoming too broad in its scope, and that unrelated building types are being shoehorned into this definition, in a well-meaning but misguided attempt to counter systemic bias. Military historians' thoughts would be welcome, please see my comment on the talk page. Thanks, Jonathan Oldenbuck (talk) 13:17, 24 July 2009 (UTC)

Utility of outlines to wikiprojects
Here's a discussion about subject development you might find interesting.

The Transhumanist 22:06, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Nominations open for the Military history WikiProject coordinator election
The Military history WikiProject coordinator selection process has started; to elect the coordinators to serve for the next six months. If you are interested in running, please sign up here by 23:59 (UTC) on 12 September!

Many thanks,  Roger Davies  talk 04:15, 7 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Just a reminder but, with about 18 hours to go until nominations close, you'll need to get your skates on if you're thinking of standing as a coordinator. The election is based on self-nominations, so please don't be shy in putting your name forward. The last elections will give you an idea of what to expect.
 * Otherwise, voting starts tonight at 00:01 (UTC). Any member of the project may support as many of the candidates as they wish. You should cast your votes here.
 * Roger Davies talk 06:45, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Qal'at Ja'bar
Hi there, I have been working for a few days now on Qal'at Ja'bar, an Islamic castle in Syria. In fact, it turned out to be a complete rewrite, as the previous description wasn't really accurate, to be honest. It will probably take me a few more days to sort out the details of the history section, but I'm pretty sure that by then I have collected most details that can be easily found in a library. As the castle is within the scope of this task force, I think, I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions to further improve the page (apart from better images, which I also intend to upload)? Zoeperkoe (talk) 07:50, 18 September 2009 (UTC)
 * See Talk:Qal'at Ja'bar. Jonathan Oldenbuck (talk) 11:50, 28 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the comments. It is an obscure castle even for Syrian standards, so it is difficult to find good sources, but I'll see what I can do. Zoeperkoe (talk) 13:46, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

Newcastle town wall
I'd appreciate a second opinion. An existing project rated this article as "GA". I added it to milhist and rated as "start", giving reasons in a todo box. This is more than a marginal discrepancy, so I'd like comments on my judgement. Folks at 137 (talk) 15:21, 27 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Hmmm. I see where you're coming from but my take is that it's probably B-class. The bar isn't set terribly high for B-class (see B-class criteria and B-class FAQ). Your to do list is an excellent basis for getting it to A-class, especially as I expect the Newcastle history people will have loads more information. I've added an info box.  Roger Davies  talk 08:08, 28 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks. Some clarifications to get up to speed, please. The B class criteria are fairly clear, IMO, and provide relatively objective benchmarks. The points about maps/plans are arguable but the text is not comprehensive in some important ways (this is often the criterion that I have trouble with as it relies upon knowledge) that are obvious even to a non-specialist such as me. Nonetheless, the article has been rated GA by another project - should this be reopened? Folks at 137 (talk) 08:54, 28 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Well it has been through the good article process, but if you think it does not stand up, then you can list it at Good article reassessment. I would probably agree with Roger that it meets the B-class criteria, in that it "reasonably covers the topic". Regarding the "breaching" of the walls in the 1640s, it says the walls were allowed to deteriorate after 1603, so the attackers may simply have bypassed the walls? As for who ordered them built and removed, to me, these are probably points of detail rather than major aspects of coverage. Regards, Jonathan Oldenbuck (talk) 11:29, 28 September 2009 (UTC)


 * The easiest way forward regarding Start or B-class is to request an assessment here, which I've now done.  Roger Davies  talk 12:30, 28 September 2009 (UTC)


 * If an article has gone through the Good Article process and has been passed as a Good Article, then it is a GA for all projects, including this one. Cheers, Abraham, B.S. (talk) 07:29, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Test your World War I knowledge with the Henry Allingham International Contest!
As a member of the Military history WikiProject or World War I task force, you may be interested in competing in the Henry Allingham International Contest! The contest aims to improve article quality and member participation within the World War I task force. It will also be a step in preparing for Operation Great War Centennial, the project's commemorative effort for the World War I centenary.

If you would like to participate, please sign up by 11 November 2009, 00:00, when the first round is scheduled to begin! You can sign up here, read up on the rules here, and discuss the contest here! Abraham, B.S. (talk) 13:24, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

Burgen, Schlösser, Festungen
Should sub-pages under List of castles in Germany be enhanced or split? Additional comments and suggestions welcome at: User talk:Traveler100. --Traveler100 (talk) 09:41, 5 December 2009 (UTC)

Peer review for Klis Fortress now open
The peer review for Klis Fortress is now open; all editors are invited to participate, and any input there would be appreciated! Thanks! -MBK004 22:49, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

Featured article candidacy for Château-Gaillard now open
The featured article candidacy for Château-Gaillard is now open. Comments from reviewers are needed to help determine whether the article meets the criteria for featured articles; all editors are invited to participate, and any input there would be appreciated! Thanks! Mm40 (talk) 23:40, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

Featured article candidacy for Bodiam Castle now open
The featured article candidacy for Bodiam Castle is now open. Comments from reviewers are needed to help determine whether the article meets the criteria for featured articles; all editors are invited to participate, and any input there would be appreciated! Thanks! Nev1 (talk) 12:25, 16 January 2010 (UTC)

Huge mound off Terrington St Clement
Anyone got any idea what this is ?? (no, I know that bits a ship lol)

I have searched some old maps and aerial photos, but so much land has been reclaimedover the past 150 years...in the aerial photos from 1946 the fields adjacent to the sea are now two fields inland and so many maps and photos stop a couple of hundred yards short of the feature

It is a 600 foot diameter volcano mound

52°50'31.20"N LAT 0°14'36.04"E LONG

I dont know if it is military in origin...

Chaosdruid (talk) 13:32, 17 January 2010 (UTC)


 * The best I can offer is that it's not a castle. That might sound flippant, but you do get castles on islands, such as St Michael's Mount. It does have an almost artifical look about it though... Nev1 (talk) 22:21, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Answer found:-

"It was a trial earth bank structure to test the feasibility of building a  barrage/etc across the Wash" kindly provided by Graeme Leggett (here)

Chaosdruid (talk) 23:02, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

WP 1.0 bot announcement
This message is being sent to each WikiProject that participates in the WP 1.0 assessment system. On Saturday, January 23, 2010, the WP 1.0 bot will be upgraded. Your project does not need to take any action, but the appearance of your project's summary table will change. The upgrade will make many new, optional features available to all WikiProjects. Additional information is available at the WP 1.0 project homepage. &mdash; Carl (CBM · talk) 03:19, 22 January 2010 (UTC)

Featured List Candidacy for List of National Treasures of Japan (castles)
List of National Treasures of Japan (castles), which falls within the scope of this task forceis currently at WP:FLC. The criteria for featured lists are found here. Please add comments or questions to the nomination page. Nev1 (talk) 20:05, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

Castlethorpe Castle
I'm new to editing Wikipedia pages and would like to expand the stub article about Castlethorpe Castle. Any guidance would be much appreciated. JackieMK (talk) 11:31, 20 March 2010 (UTC)


 * There are a number of good quality castle articles which may provide a useful model: Bodiam Castle, Brougham Castle, Bruce Castle, and Warwick Castle are four very different castles which may provide ideas. A basic structure to follow would be a history section, broken down into the original history of the castle and its fate after abandonment (including investigation and antiquarian interest), and a section on layout, where you can explain what each section of the castle would have been used for. As all that remains of Castlethorpe is an earthwork, a more useful model may be Buckton Castle; although there's very little to say about Buckton – very little of its history is certain – what provided most of the text was the archaeological investigation. This website provides a very useful starting point for any article on a particular castle; most of the sources there will probably only contain passing mentions of Castlethorpe, but what's listed there is pretty comprehensive. As with many earthworks, it seems that very little has been said about Castlethorpe. What might be useful is to pad out the article with context: what was going on locally when it was built; is there anything significant about the type of castle; although little may be known about Castlethorpe, is this symptomatic of this type of castle, has it been neglected? Those kinds of things. In my experience, castles that survive only as a few lumps and bumps don't get great coverage in sources, so it might be a frustrating article to write. I'll be happy to help in any way I can though. Nev1 (talk) 13:38, 20 March 2010 (UTC)

Many thanks. I'll take a look at the articles you suggest as models, and at the website you suggest as a starting point. JackieMK (talk) 20:13, 20 March 2010 (UTC)

A-Class review for Klis Fortress now open
The A-Class review for Klis Fortress is now open; all editors are invited to participate, and any input there would be appreciated! Thanks! -MBK004 02:10, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Linear castle
The above article, which is within this project's scope, has been nominated for deletion; input from people here is welcome. Nev1 (talk) 14:07, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

Rampart, Bulwark terms
I'd like to bring something to this wikiproject: Talk:Defensive wall. So basically these two terms are redirected to defensive wall even though the article doesn't cover the difference between them. I only know there is a difference but I'm sure someone at this wikiproject could throw together a couple sources and create proper articles. So if your interested, have at it--Profitoftruth85 (talk) 22:25, 30 May 2010 (UTC)

English Heritage
Thought it might be worth mentioning here (given that a lot of old, English fortification articles link to an EH page), that English Heritage have totally overhauled their website, resulting in a lot of broken links. Bizarrely, even a Google search of a term will suggest an EH page as a result, only to take you to a broken link. I recommend searching the EH website for the relevant new page, although some of the more informative research pages seem to have vanished forever I'm afraid. Ranger Steve (talk) 22:05, 9 June 2010 (UTC)
 * That's an annoyance, but thanks for the notification (I hadn't noticed yet). Nev1 (talk) 09:20, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

Rewrite of Tower of London
I’ve rewritten the article, complete with references. I’ve got rid of a lot of trivial fluff and imbalance (especially towards recent events). There may be further additions – a paragraph here or there, perhaps some different images – but I expect this is the main body of the article. I’m going to let the dust settle for a couple of weeks before taking it to FAC; I’d like to see this get onto the front page eventually. If anyone has any comments, now would be the time to make them. Nev1 (talk) 09:16, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

Featured article candidacy for Siege of Godesberg (1583) now open
The featured article candidacy for Siege of Godesberg (1583) is now open. Comments from reviewers are needed to help determine whether the article meets the criteria for featured articles; all editors are invited to participate, and any input there would be appreciated! Thanks! -MBK004 08:14, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Featured article candidacy for Acra (fortress) now open
The featured article candidacy for Acra (fortress) is now open. Comments from reviewers are needed to help determine whether the article meets the criteria for featured articles; all editors are invited to participate, and any input there would be appreciated! Thanks! -MBK004 06:07, 15 July 2010 (UTC)

Peer review for Citadel of Arbil now open
The peer review for Citadel of Arbil is now open; all editors are invited to participate, and any input there would be appreciated! Thanks! -MBK004 19:56, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Featured article candidacy for Tower of London now open
The featured article candidacy for Tower of London is now open. Comments from reviewers are needed to help determine whether the article meets the criteria for featured articles; all editors are invited to participate, and any input there would be appreciated! Thanks! -MBK004 03:02, 22 July 2010 (UTC)