Legal Definitions - wallia

Wallia refers to a historical term for a protective barrier, typically a wall, mound, or embankment, constructed in low-lying or marshy coastal regions to defend against the encroachment of the sea or tidal waters.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of a wallia:

• Imagine a medieval monastery situated on reclaimed land bordering a tidal estuary. To protect their newly established fields and buildings from regular flooding by the sea, the monks would have constructed a substantial earthen embankment along the edge of the marsh. This embankment, specifically designed to serve as a barrier against the incoming tides and safeguard the vulnerable land, would be an example of a wallia.

• Consider a historical coastal farming community in a region like the Fens of eastern England, where much of the land was once marshy and susceptible to inundation from the North Sea. To preserve their valuable agricultural fields and pastures from storm surges and high tides, the community would have collectively built a series of reinforced earthworks or stone walls. These protective structures, erected in the marshy landscape to hold back the sea, would historically be referred to as wallia.

• In the early development of a port town along a river delta prone to tidal flooding, settlers might have erected a sturdy timber and earth barrier to protect the nascent docks, warehouses, and homes from high tides and storm surges. This initial defensive structure, built within the marshy delta environment to create a safe harbor and prevent the sea from inundating the settlement, would exemplify a wallia.