[OL-Royal Arsenal of Astrapi] Emptying the sea with a bucket

[Keymonus]

Spoiler

This is the first part: The beginning of the works. The idea was to depict the same area in three different moments (at the beginning, at an half and after the end of the works) and, even if reproduce the cliff with different sea levels was very difficult, I'm quite satisfied by the result.

After a hard work the dam was completed, but this was only the first step towards the new military port: dozens of unusual cranes (usually called "giraffes") were built along the barrier and, manouvred  day and night by hundreds of labourers started emptying the bay.

At a conceptual level, transferring a single bucket of water from the bay to the open sea or repeat the operation ten or five thousand times is not different: it's only a matter of resources, logistics and manpower; continuously working for a couple of months, the groups of workers (convicts, Astrapians and laborers from all the New World) emptied the bay, reaching the muddy seabed. The dam was then reinforced with beams from inside, to prevent it collapsing due to the terrible pressure from outside. 

Even if the giraffes egregiously did their job, a significant was given by a series of endless screws, simple (and quite fragile) machines capable of lifting huge volumes of water with a minimum effort; they were useful in particular when the bay was almost dry, to complete the job and control infiltrations along the dam.

 Here you can see how the port was actually realised: hundreds of tons of mud, sand and rocks, accumulated by tides and rivers during the last centuries, were gradually removed with showels and cases by convicts (with red clothes) and salaried labourers.

When full, the cases were lifted to the top of the cliff using winches and wooden rails: the resulting materials were then carried away with wagons along a temporary road and used to pave streets or build new piers in different areas of the island.

A little ceremony was held at the top of the cliff: celebrating a tradition older than the Faith itself the Master Builder made a short propitiatory speech near to the cornerstone of the future fort. This stone, influencing the direction, precision and stability of the foundation, has always had a strong symbolical value: the future of the new building relies on it's stability and, since the cornerstone can only be exposed by the complete distruction of the overlying building, an offer to the gods of the Underword (Hades in particular) is usually made.

As usual, the cornerstone of the fort contained a little space for the ritual offers: a golden figurine of Hades, a doubloon minted during the year, sometimes a message for the future Oleanders;
the cover was then sealed forever with mortar and, since that very moment the new fort became something more than a mere project.

Tristan Rimbaud, one of the promoters (and financers) of the Royal Arsenal congratulated with the Master Builder: the build was perfectly on time, and the bright, glorious future for Astrapi was a little nearer.

 

 

An overall view:

Other pictures:

The men manouvring one of the winches

Edited September 9, 2018 by Keymonus

[LM71Blackbird]

Very detailed and impressive build! There's so much about this MOC that I like! Fantastic job on the terrain, equipment, and all the busyness!

[merc]

The build is awesome, filled with alot of detail. I like the story and how it fits well with both the build and the BoBS lore. Specifically, the tying in of ceremonies.

[Bodi]

Nice build! I like the rocky ridge, the retaining wall and the crane, so does the scene depicting the ceremony at the completion of the works.

[Mesabi]

Excellent Build Keymonus. The attention to detail is fantastic! I especially like the small details of the hades statuette, and the coin being buried. The build is excellent as well, and really captures the essence of what would be done to build a dam. keep up the great work!

[Bart]

Excellent build, I really like all the details of the water works. And the whole cornerstone story is well build.

[blackdeathgr]

The moc is great,  the various equipment are great too and so is the story. But what I liked the most, was the ceremony that enriches the faith subject in BoBS. In times of old (and sometimes even today), a rooster was also slain and drained over the cornerstone or at the foundations, for the building to stay solid.

[Keymonus]

Thank you for your comments! The digging of the new port was freely inspired to something similar done in Genua during the late Middle Ages to avoid the silting up of the port. The ceremony, even if based on real traditions, was completely invented... I'm glad you enjoyed it!