Embankments, in Engineering, are masses of earth, rock, or other materials artificially formed, and rising above the natural surface of the ground. They are chiefly formed either (1) to carry railways, common roads, canals, &c. over depressions of the country; or (2) for hydraulic purposes, such as the formation of reservoirs for storing water, or as defences against the overflowing of rivers and the encroachments of the sea or of lakes.
In the formation of canals, railways, and other roads, embankment and excavation go hand in hand, and, under the name of Earthwork, form—especially in modern times, and since the development of the railway-system—a vast branch of industry, giving employment to many thousands of labourers, known in England as 'navvies.' See CANAL, DYKE, ROAD, RAILWAY, WATER, p. 570.