Talk:Fortifications of Valletta/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Sturmvogel 66 (talk · contribs) 22:05, 11 September 2015 (UTC)

I'll get to this shortly.--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 22:05, 11 September 2015 (UTC)

• Needs a map showing where Valletta is on Malta.
• No DABs, external links good.
• Pictures appropriately licesned.
• Can you add a general map showing the locations of the defenses? Otherwise it's hard to figure out where everything is. It should also show where Grand Harbour and Marsamxett are.
• Link covertway, enciente, retired batteries, echaugette, curtain wall, salient angle
• Watch out for overlinking. this script will point them out to you once you install it.
• British built hyphenate this
• destroyed in World War II but was rebuilt in 2014 comma after II
• assymetrical typo--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 18:55, 15 September 2015 (UTC)

I added the location map and made some other changes. Regarding the map, I could create maps such as this one (which I created mainly for the Lascaris Battery and Saluting Battery articles) for parts of the fortifications. I could create a single simplified map showing the entire city, or I could create four more detailed maps (land front, Marsamxett, Grand Harbour and St. Elmo) and put them in their respective sections in the article. If I have time I'll do all of them tomorrow, and see which would be best. Xwejnusgozo (talk) 19:30, 15 September 2015 (UTC)

It's very nice that you can make maps so easily, that's very handy for these fortification articles.--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 21:43, 15 September 2015 (UTC)

I just added the map :) Xwejnusgozo (talk) 15:18, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

Beautiful, exactly what I was looking for!

• Still need to link enciente and remove duplicate links. And there's probably some more arcane fortification technology that needs to be clarified as well, but I don't have time to look for that now.--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 15:40, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

• I removed some duplicate links, the only ones that remain now are Grand Harbour, Marsamxett Harbour and Fort St. Elmo in their respective subsections in the "Layout" section. According to Stephen C. Spiteri's Illustrated Glossary of Terms used in Military Architecture, an enciente is "the fortified perimeter of a defensive work, and the area enclosed by it", so I linked it to defensive wall. I had a quick look at the article (particularly the "layout" section) and added a few more links for technical terms. Xwejnusgozo (talk) 16:02, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

• Your changes look good; my only remaining concern is what you mean by a retired battery.--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 18:35, 17 September 2015 (UTC)

• @Sturmvogel 66: I got the term "retired battery" from the NICPMI listing here. If I understand correctly, a retired battery is a battery which is constructed above/below another battery, so as to be able to fire without interfering in the line of fire of the other battery (somewhat similar to a cavalier). For example, the photo and map below show St. Peter & Paul Bastion, which has an upper tier (now the Upper Barrakka Gardens) and a lower tier (the Saluting Battery). The British added Lascaris Battery at a level lower than the Saluting Battery.

St. Peter & Paul Bastion

• I think this is what is meant by "retired battery". However, I don't know how to explain it exactly in the article. Could it be omitted, ie. Other alterations included construction of concrete gun emplacements and gunpowder magazines, and changes to parapets and their embrasures. ? Xwejnusgozo (talk) 20:35, 17 September 2015 (UTC)

• I'd change the sentence to say that the British added additional batteries, etc.--Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 20:55, 17 September 2015 (UTC)

• @Sturmvogel 66: I changed the sentence to Other alterations included addition of batteries and concrete gun emplacements, changes to parapets and their embrasures, and the construction of gunpowder magazines. Xwejnusgozo (talk) 20:57, 17 September 2015 (UTC)