BREAKWATER

An artificial bank of stones, or the hull of a ve el, sunk to break the sea before its entrance Into a roadstead or harbour. The breakwater at Plymouth, ork of this kind. It is built acro the sound, which it completely defends from a very heavy sea from the channel in southwesterly winds, and which formerly caused the lo of many ships. It is composed of large stones dropt from ve els constructed for the purpose. The sea, which for a time offers serious obstacles to the construction, works the stones together, and washes up shingle and sand, which, with the growth of sea-weed, h late the whole. The outer mole of the harbour of Civita Vecchla, still in good repair, was formed by the Emperor Trajan exactly in the same way as the breakwater at Plymouth.water at Cher bourg,(Pliriii' Epist.constructed lib. vi.byep.Napoleon,31.) The is one break-of itest modern works of this cla . [s. 181]