fascine mattress

File:Flag made by F.H. Pijnappels, ca. 1850.tif

File:Zinkstuk 1875.png

File:Zinkstuk voor de Hollandse IJssel bij de nieuwe Julianasluis in Gouda (04).JPG. The synthetic geotextile underlayer can be clearly seen.]]

{{lang|nl|Zinkstuk}} have been used in The Netherlands for river and coastal engineering works since at least the 16th century, and were discussed extensively by Andries Vierlingh in his {{lang|nl|Tractaet van Dijckagie}} (English: Treatise on dike building), the manuscript of which was not published until 1920, and is now housed in the Nationaal Archief.{{cite book |last=Vierlingh |first=A. |author-link=Andries Vierlingh |url=http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:24f0d47b-6c00-4cea-bdbc-193c4b2c9e20 |title=Andries Vierlingh: Tractaet van dyckagie |date=1920 |publisher=Nijhoff, Den Haag |editor-last1=de Hullu |editor-first1=J. |language=nl |trans-title=Andries Vierlingh: Treatise on Dike Construction |access-date=21 July 2023 |editor-last2=Verhoeven |editor-first2=A.G.}}

The materials for fascine mattresses in The Netherlands were traditionally harvested in osier beds along rivers such as The Merwede, particularly around the Biesbosch, where the materials were grown and coppiced in order to produce the mattresses. The towns of Werkendam and Sliedrecht are notable as centres of {{lang|nl|zinkstuk}} fabrication and construction expertise.{{cite book |last=Oosterhoff |first=S.M. |title=De werkendammer rijswerkers |trans-title=The Werkendam brushwood workers |date=1961 |publisher=VBKO (Vereninging voor Kust en Oeverwerken) |url=http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:cecbdedd-fbe9-493d-a516-f171312d6286 |access-date=21 July 2023 |language=nl}}

In the 16th century, dike workers in The Netherlands were often impoverished, taking on jobs under a day-rate contract. Dike building works were usually tendered in the month of March and often had to be completed by August, and fascine mattresses were a common feature of the work.

By the end of the 17th century, floating fascine mattresses had been introduced for closure works in the Netherlands, with the mattresses being assembled and then towed to the required location, where they were ballasted by rocks and then immersed by sinking. This technique was used as scour protection at the bed level, and the ability to stack layers of fascines on top of each other in the required location up to the level of low tide with this method made gradual closures possible.{{cite thesis |last=van Duivendijk |first=J. |date=2024 |title=Fighting Against the Current: Restoring dike breaches and closing tidal channels by simple means - from past to present |degree=PhD |publisher=Delft University of Technology |doi=10.4233/uuid:c8433b04-86ba-4a8b-a5ba-a2e5c9ef103d |url= https://doi.org/10.4233/uuid:c8433b04-86ba-4a8b-a5ba-a2e5c9ef103d |access-date= 13 May 2024}}

In the mid to late 19th century, fascine mattresses were used across the Netherlands, including in works at Schellingwoude and the Sloedam, along with sections of embankments at the Hollands Diep and shore protection works in Westkapelle.{{Cite journal |last=Watson |first=T.C. |date=1875 |title=On the Use of Fascines in the Public Works of Holland |url=https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/imotp.1875.22680 |journal=Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers |language=en |volume=41 |issue=1875 |pages=158–170 |doi=10.1680/imotp.1875.22680 |issn=1753-7843 |access-date=28 July 2023}} Sections of the Rhine between Lobith and Pannerden were strengthened by fascine mattresses from 1851.{{Cite journal |last=Siccama |first=H.T.H. |date=1880 |title=The Delta of the Rhine and the Meuse in the Netherlands |url=https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/imotp.1880.22196 |journal=Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers |language=en |volume=59 |issue=1880 |pages=227–264 |doi=10.1680/imotp.1880.22196 |issn=1753-7843 |access-date=28 July 2023|url-access=subscription }} Fascine mattresses were also used extensively in the construction of sections of the Amsterdam Ship Canal and the Port of Rotterdam.{{Cite journal |last=Bokhoven |first=W. |date=1966 |title=Recent Quay Wall Construction at Rotterdam Harbour |url=https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/iicep.1966.8602 |journal=Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers |language=en |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=593–613 |doi=10.1680/iicep.1966.8602 |issn=1753-7789 |access-date=28 July 2023|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last=Hayter |first=H. |date=1880 |title=The Amsterdam Ship Canal |url=https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/imotp.1880.22080 |journal=Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers |language=en |volume=62 |issue=1880 |pages=1–26 |doi=10.1680/imotp.1880.22080 |issn=1753-7843 |access-date=14 June 2024|url-access=subscription }} By the middle of the 1800s, engineering knowledge around fascine mattress installation had begun to be included in Dutch engineering textbooks.{{Cite book |last=Caland |first=A. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/905444564 |title=Handleiding tot de kennis der dyksbouw en zeeweringskunde |publisher=Olivier van de Velde |year=1833 |edition=1st |location=Zierikzee |language=nl |trans-title=Manual for the knowledge of dike construction and coastal defence works |oclc=905444564 |access-date=28 July 2023}}{{Cite journal |last1=Sears |first1=A.F. |last2=Comstock |first2=C.B. |last3=FitzGerald |first3=D. |last4=De Courcy |first4=B.W. |last5=White |first5=W.H. |last6=Fanning |first6=J.T. |last7=Richardson |first7=H. B. |last8=Hider |first8=A. |last9=LeBaron |first9=J.F. |last10=Rafter |first10=G.W. |last11=Herschel |first11=C. |last12=Cartwright |first12=R. |last13=Worthen |first13=W.E. |last14=Fuertes |first14=E.A. |last15=Brush |first15=C.B. |date=1892 |title=Discussion on the Holland Dikes |url=https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/TACEAT.0000888 |journal=Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers |language=en |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=656–700 |doi=10.1061/TACEAT.0000888 |issn=0066-0604 |access-date=14 June 2024|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite book |last=Barnard |first=John Gross |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f2ZXAAAAcAAJ |title=Report on the North Sea Canal of Holland; and on the Improvement of Navigation from Rotterdam to the Sea; to the Chief of Engineers, United States Army |date=1872 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en |access-date=14 June 2024}}

By 1910, the town of Werkendam was home to 160 fascine mattress workers ({{lang|nl|rijswerkers}}), some of whom worked abroad. Their wages at the time ranged from 12 to 18 guilders per week. As Dutch dredging and hydraulic engineering contractors began to undertake works internationally, the workers earned up to 50 guilders per week overseas. Much of their income was spent on basic sustenance, with workers often living on the worksite in a hut or cabin. An average of eight months per year was spent at fascine mattress work, with the remaining four months (usually from November to March) spent on tasks such as coppicing and harvesting.

File:TekeningZinkstuk.jpg

File:De Schelphoek op Schouwen. Film aanmaak zinkstukken, Bestanddeelnr 905-8270.jpg

The main component of a traditional fascine mattress is willow twigs, which are formed into a wattle. Willow timber has several properties that are important throughout the process of creating and sinking a fascine mattress, being flexible, robust, and buoyant. The manufacturing process of a traditional fascine mattress begins by winding rope around the willow in both directions using a machine, resulting in a lengthy roll known as a wattle.

Historically, a considerable number of skilled workers, known in the Netherlands as {{lang|nl|rijswerkers}}, were required to create wattles at a proprietary stand. Nowadays, with the use of machinery, this process is more efficient and allows for adjustments to the thickness and length of the wattle as required.{{Cite journal |last=Van Westen |first=J.W. |date=1969 |title=Ontwerp en uitvoering van zinkwerken |trans-title=Design and implementation of fascine mattress sinking works |url=https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid%3A012e43ce-4f9f-4d4c-b58e-be83a867b12c |journal=Rijkswaterstaat Report |language=nl |access-date=21 July 2023 |via=TU Delft Repository}}{{cite book |last=Verhagen |first=H.J. |title=Dijk- en oeverval aan den cal. Willem Annapolder (Gem. Kapelle) 1936|trans-title=Embankment and shoreline collapse at the cal. Willem Annapolder (Municipality of Kapelle) 1936 |date=2006 |publisher=Jan Roskam Czn. Sliedrecht |url=http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:fd9ff97c-0a3c-4183-818d-fcf7999ab8e9 |access-date=21 July 2023 |language=nl}}

The mattress is assembled on a patch of ground adjacent to the water, and once the wattle is complete, the mat is towed to the desired location and sunk to the bed using dumped stones. The bottom layer of a traditional fascine mattress is a lattice structure composed of wattle, spaced around one metre apart. On top of this base are arranged two crisscrossing layers of willow twigs, referred to as the first and second brush layers.

To ensure the fascine mattress is sand-tight, a layer of reed is inserted between these brush layers. Occasionally, for added stability, a third brush layer may be placed above the second. Following this, an upper lattice of wattle is installed to secure the entire structure.{{cite book |last=Van 't Hoff |first=J. |language= nl |title=Rijshoutconstructies in de waterbouw |trans-title=Brushwood constructions in hydraulic engineering |date=1995 |publisher=Stichting productiviteit rijswerkers- en steenzettersbedrijf |url=http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:4b018344-829e-4b5d-bf4e-55b7af96e399 |access-date=21 July 2023}}

The cohesion of the mattress is then reinforced by tightly binding the upper and lower lattices together using ropes. In The Netherlands, it is common to add {{lang|nl|tuinen}}, a type of fencing, to the top of the fascine mattress in order to prevent the stones dumped onto it from rolling off during underwater immersion.

Timber stakes are used to mark out a working grid, indicating the precise positions for the layout of the wattle. Then, the brushwood is layered between the wattles, followed by the addition of the second brush layer, before the top layer is positioned. By this stage, the fascine mattress is around half a metre thick. Finally, the bindings are tightened to create a coherent, unified structure ready for installation.

File:ENI 02318023 EMERALDIS (02).JPG

The construction of the Delta Works, prompted by the effects of the North Sea flood of 1953, was of such a vast scale that tremendous quantities of brushwood would have been required to utilise traditional fascine mattresses across all of the Delta Works projects. As a result, the {{Lang|nl|Deltadienst}} department of Rijkswaterstaat decided to undertake research and experiments at the Waterloopkundig Laboratorium, to investigate the possibility of improving the traditional mattress and reducing the quantity of brushwood required.{{Cite journal |last=Ferguson |first=H.A. |date=1972 |title=The Netherlands Delta Project: Problems and Lessons |url=https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/iicep.1972.5827 |journal=Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers |language=en |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=465–478 |doi=10.1680/iicep.1972.5827 |issn=1753-7789 |access-date=28 July 2023|url-access=subscription }}

This work coincided with the advent of synthetic geotextiles in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and traditional fascine mattresses began to reduce in popularity, with use being made of woven polypropylene fabrics in place of the reed underlayer.{{Citation |last1=Koerner |first1=G.R. |title=The durability of geosynthetics |date=2007 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1533/9781845692490.1.36 |work=Geosynthetics in Civil Engineering |pages=36–65 |access-date=2023-07-21 |publisher=Elsevier |last2=Hsuan |first2=Y.G. |last3=Koerner |first3=R.M.|doi=10.1533/9781845692490.1.36 |isbn=9781855736078 |url-access=subscription }}{{Cite book |last=Koerner |first=R.M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qZtSAAAAQBAJ |title=Designing with Geosynthetics - 6Th Edition Vol. 1 |date=2012 |publisher= Xlibris Corporation|isbn=978-1-4628-8290-8 |language=en |access-date=21 July 2023}}{{Cite report |url=https://linkresolver.bsigroup.com/junction/resolve/000000000030299179?restype=standard |title=BS EN 13253:2014+A1:2015 Geotextiles and geotextile-related products. Characteristics required for use in erosion control works (coastal protection, bank revetments) |date=2015 |doi=10.3403/30239930 |language=en |publisher=British Standards Institution |access-date=23 July 2023|url-access=subscription }} Traditional fascine mattresses are however still used, with their application often limited to locations where synthetic materials and plastics are discouraged or prohibited for environmental reasons.{{Cite journal |last=Heibaum |first=M.H. |date=2000 |title=Scour Countermeasures Using Geosynthetics and Partially Grouted Riprap |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3141/1696-70 |journal=Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board |language=en |volume=1696 |issue=1 |pages=244–250 |doi=10.3141/1696-70 |s2cid=108908699 |issn=0361-1981 |access-date=23 July 2023|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite report |url=https://erdc-library.erdc.dren.mil/jspui/handle/11681/3948 |title=Brush mattresses for streambank erosion control |last1=Allen |first1=H.H. |last2=Fischenich |first2=J.C. |date=2001 |publisher=Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.) |language=en-US |access-date=23 July 2023}}

For the Delta Works, 'block mat' fascine mattresses consisting of a fabric with concrete blocks attached were rolled up and immersed by unrolling the mat with a special ship, the Cardium, during the construction of the Oosterscheldekering. These mattresses were reinforced with steel cables to mitigate the effects of tension.{{cite book |last=Spaargaren |first=F. |author-link=Frank Spaargaren |url=http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:bf3f28f2-c6ef-417c-9c5e-53647cc9358e |title=Fotoreportage proeven op- en afrollen blokkenmat |date=1979 |publisher=Rijkswaterstaat |language=nl |trans-title=Photo report of tests on unrolling and rolling up block mat |access-date=21 July 2023}}{{cite book |last=Visser |first=T. |url=http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:e1b04945-6712-4aa8-897d-754e1cf9be84 |title=Ontwerpnota stormvloedkering Oosterschelde: Boek 5: Hulpsystemen enhulpwerktuigen |date=1 January 1985 |publisher=Rijkswaterstaat |trans-title=Design note Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier: Book 5: Auxiliary systems and tools |access-date=21 July 2023 |language=nl}}{{Cite web |title=Fascine mattresses |url=https://www.vanschaiksalix.nl/en/portfolio-archive/fascine-mattresses/ |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=Van Schaik Salix |language=en-GB}}

File:Cardium-Oosterscheldekering.jpg.]]

Modern fascine mattresses are made using a woven polypropylene fabric which is water-permeable, sand-tight and contains pre-woven loops. The loops allow the fabric to be attached to a wattle grid using a rope, without the need to create holes.

These modern mattresses are much thinner than traditional mattresses, with a longer design life. The function of the wattle grid is to provide sufficient buoyancy and rigidity to the fabric during the sinking process. The absence of a wattle grid precludes the underlayer fabric from being uniformly flat across the riverbed or underwater surface onto which it is placed. The grid also prevents broken stone from rolling off, particularly when used on revetments or sloping surfaces.{{cite book |last1=Schiereck |first1=G.J. |last2= Verhagen |first2= H.J. |date=2016 |access-date= 21 July 2023 |title=Introduction to bed, bank and shoreline protection |url=http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:df203dde-6cca-4375-85d2-8b2dbce613cb |location=Delft, The Netherlands |publisher=VSSD |isbn=978-90-6562-306-5}}{{Cite journal |last=Ashis |first=M. |date=2015 |title=Application of geotextiles in Coastal Protection and Coastal Engineering Works: An overview |url=http://www.isca.me/IJENS/Archive/v4/i4/15.ISCA-IRJEvS-2015-006.pdf |journal=International Research Journal of Environment Sciences |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=96–103 |access-date=23 July 2023}}

File:AfzinkenStevinsluizen.jpg in 1932]]

Fascine mattresses are immersed by dumping stone or rock onto the surface, causing it to sink to the bottom. In tidal waters, this must occur at a time when there are no (or very low) tidal currents, usually at slack water. Once the fascine mattress is in place, the underlying bed is protected from erosion by the flowing water and deformation of the riverbed or bank is negated.

The dumped stones ensure that the mattress remains in place and provides protection against wave action on banks. The design life of a fascine mattress can be as much as 100 years. In the past, a fascine mattress was immersed using skilled labour placing stones on it by hand, such as during the construction of the Afsluitdijk.{{Cite journal |last=Hoeksema |first=R.J. |date=2007 |title=Three stages in the history of land reclamation in the Netherlands |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ird.340 |journal=Irrigation and Drainage |language=en |volume=56 |issue=S1 |pages=S113–S126 |doi=10.1002/ird.340 |bibcode=2007IrrDr..56S.113H |access-date=14 July 2024|url-access=subscription }} It is important that the stones are applied evenly, and that everyone is clear of the fascine mattress at the time of sinking. Modern mattresses are placed using civil engineering plant such as crane barges, long reach excavators and, in deeper water, side stone-dumping vessels.{{Cite book |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9783433605172 |title=Recommendations of the Committee for Waterfront Structures Harbours and Waterways EAU 2012 |date=2015 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-3-433-03110-0 |editor-last=Grabe |editor-first=J. |edition=1 |language=en |doi=10.1002/9783433605172.ch12 |access-date=14 July 2024}}

Placement of a mattress in conditions where there is a flowing current is nearly impossible with this method, however placement using a pair of pontoons and a side-stone dumping vessel is possible. In the latter situation, the mattress is connected to a pair of sinking beams (hollow tubes), which are filled with water at the appropriate time to sink the mattress. After immersion, these sinking beams are disconnected from the mattress, filled with air, and recovered.

File:Sinking process of a fascine mattress.png

Fascine mattresses have been used in projects across the world, and their use in The Netherlands has been extensive, including projects such as the Afsluitdijk and Delta Works projects such as the Zandkreekdam, Volkerakdam, Brouwersdam, and Grevelingendam. The technique was also used in Zeeland for dike reinforcements in the Eastern Scheldt and in the construction and extension of the piers of IJmuiden and the widening of the North Sea Canal.{{cite journal |last1=Watson |first1=I. |last2=Finkl |first2=C.W. |date=1990 |title=State of the Art in Storm-Surge Protection: The Netherlands Delta Project |journal=Journal of Coastal Research |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=739–764}}{{cite book |last1=van der Kley |first1=J. |last2= Zuidweg |first2= H.J. |date=1969 |title=Polders en dijken |trans-title=Polders and dikes |language=nl |location=Amsterdam |publisher=N.V. Uitgeversmaatschappij Agon Elsevier}}{{cite book |last=Stuvel |first=H.J. |date=1963 |title=Drie eilanden één: hoe de zee door menselijk vernuft en door eendracht werd verdreven uit de zandkreek en het Veerse Gat |trans-title=Three islands one: How human ingenuity and unity drove the sea out of the Zandkreek and the Veerse Gat |url=http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:fbd6744c-b08f-47d3-802a-eebd191083a3 |access-date= 21 July 2023 |language=nl |location=Amsterdam |publisher=Uitgave van Scheltema & Holkema N.V. |oclc=17605038 }}{{Cite book |last1=Steenhuis |first1=M. |last2= Voerman |first2= L. |last3= Swart |first3= S. |last4= Emmerik |first4= J. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/951540787 |title=De Deltawerken |publisher=nai010 Uitgevers |year=2016 |access-date= 21 July 2023 |isbn=978-94-6208-272-4 |location=[Rotterdam] |language=nl |trans-title=The Delta Works |oclc=951540787}}{{Cite book |url=http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:fb90981f-5a61-479f-9b09-ab59cac1612d |title=The Closure of tidal basins: closing of estuaries, tidal inlets, and dike breaches |date=1987 |publisher=Delft University Press |access-date= 21 July 2023 |last= Huis in 't Veld |first= J. C. |isbn=90-6275-287-X |edition=2nd |location=Delft, the Netherlands |oclc=18039440}}

Extensive use of fascine mattresses was made during the emergency recovery works following the Inundation of Walcheren, with the {{lang|nl|rijswerker}} Gerrit Visser of Van Oord decorated by the authorities in Zeeland for supervising the immersion of 36 fascine mattresses over a total area of 52,700 square metres during the works.{{cite book |last=Korteweg |first=J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JHh7DwAAQBAJ |title=Breaking new ground |date=2018 |publisher=Uitgeverij Balans |isbn=9789460039676 |location=Amsterdam |access-date=21 July 2023}} Visser is portrayed as the character Klaas Otterkop in A. den Doolaard's non-fiction novel Het verjaagde water.{{cite web|title=Het verjaagde water by A. den Doolaard|url=https://www.worldcat.org/formats-editions/1308469401|publisher=WorldCat|access-date=21 July 2023}}

File:Bamboe zinkstuk.jpgThe ideas of Andries Vierlingh, as set out in his {{lang|nl|Tractaet van Dijckagie}}, were used in the 16th century by Cornelius Vermuyden for his drainage works in England.{{Cite journal |last=Harris |first=L.E. |date=1949 |title=Sir Cornelius Vermuyden: An Evaluation and an Appreciation |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/tns.1949.002 |journal=Transactions of the Newcomen Society |language=en |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=7–18 |doi=10.1179/tns.1949.002 |issn=0372-0187 |access-date=23 July 2023|url-access=subscription }}{{Citation |last=van Cruyningen |first=P. |title=Technology in a Hostile Environment: The case of Cornelius Vermuyden |date=2022 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781003049180-31 |work=Anglo-Dutch Connections in the Early Modern World |pages=271–278 |access-date=23 July 2023 |place=New York |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781003049180-31 |isbn=978-1-003-04918-0|url-access=subscription }}{{cite journal

| last1 = Wheeler

| first1 = William Henry

| date = 1876

| title = Fascine works at the outfalls of the Fen rivers and reclamation of the foreshore

| url = https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/imotp.1876.22574?journalCode=jmipi

| journal = Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers

| volume = 46

| issue = 1558

| pages = 61–73

| doi = 10.1680/imotp.1876.22574

| access-date = 2023-07-23

}} Around 1750, the Dutch engineer Cornelis Janszoon Meijer introduced fascine mattresses for bed protection works in Italy.{{Cite web |last=Meijer |first=C.J. |title=informazione di far navigabile il Tevere principiando da Perugia passando per Roma sino nel mare |trans-title=On making the Tiber navigable, starting from Perugia, passing through Rome, all the way to the sea |url=https://bildsuche.digitale-sammlungen.de/index.html?c=viewer&bandnummer=bsb00013205&pimage=00001&v=100&nav=&l=Nl |access-date=23 July 2023 |website=bildsuche.digitale-sammlungen.de |language=it |via=Bavarian State Library}}{{cite book

| last = Meijer

| first = Cornelis Jansz.

| date = 1696

| title = Nvovi ritrovamenti

| trans-title= New finds

| language=it

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Q6NlVQctwPsC

| location = Roma

| publisher = Giacomo Komarek

}}

At the request of the Japanese government in the 1870s, a number of Dutch hydraulic engineers were invited to improve hydraulic engineering works in Japan.{{Cite journal |last1=Iwamoto |first1=K. |last2=Hein |first2=C. |date=2018 |title=Cross-Cultural Engineering: The Role of Dutch Civil Engineering in Modern Port Planning in Japan (1870s-1890s) |url=https://journals.open.tudelft.nl/iphs/article/view/2704 |journal=Proceedings of the International Planning History Society |volume=18 |issue=1 |language=en |pages=499–506 Pages |doi=10.7480/IPHS.2018.1.2704 |access-date=23 July 2023}} These engineers included Cornelis Johannes van Doorn, who was in charge of renovation work on the Tone, Edo and Yodo Rivers, along with works on the Asaka Irrigation Canal in Fukushima Prefecture and the Nobiru Port in Sendai Bay.{{Cite book |last1=de Graaf |first1=R. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/553654030 |title=Urban Water in Japan |last2=Hooimeijer |first2=F. |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2009 |isbn=9780203889190 |language=en |access-date=23 July 2023}}

Van Doorn introduced fascine mattresses and {{Lang|nl|rijswerkers}} during the period 1872 – 1880,{{Cite web |last=日本人名大辞典 |first=デジタル版 |title=ファン ドールンとは？ 意味や使い方 |trans-title=van Doorn, Cornelis Johannes |url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%83%B3%3D%E3%83%89%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%83%B3-1104475 |access-date=23 July 2023 |website=コトバンク |publisher=Kodansha Dictionary of Japanese Names |language=ja}} and the art and science of making fascine mattresses subsequently became known in Japan as the Westerwiel method, named for one of the Dutch {{Lang|nl|rijswerkers}},{{cite book

| last = van Gasteren

| first = L.A.

| date = 2000

| title = In een Japanse stroomversnelling

| trans-title= In Japanese rapids

| language=nl

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YasMAQAAMAAJ

| location = Zutphen, Netherlands

| publisher = Walburg Pers

| pages = 381–382

| isbn = 9789057300769

}} and is now known in Japan as the "Japanese traditional method".{{cite web|title=Project on Mekong Riverbank Protection Works with the Use of Japanese Traditional Methods| url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/oda/white/2006/ODA2006/html/column/cl02003.htm}}

In 1849, the British engineer Charles Blacker Vignoles visited Dutch contractors Aart Schram and Leendert Martinus Prins in Sliedrecht, and arranged for them to travel to Kyiv and install fascine mattresses as scour protection to the piers of the Nicholas Chain Bridge, which had suffered extensive damage during construction.{{Cite journal |last=Vignoles |first=J. |date=2012 |title=The construction of the Kiev Suspension Bridge 1846–1853 |journal=Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering History and Heritage |language=en |volume=165 |issue=1 |pages=21–45 |doi=10.1680/ehah.2012.165.1.21 |issn=1757-9430 |doi-access=free }}{{Cite journal |last=Vignoles |first=C.B. |date=1870 |title=Institution of Civil Engineers Presidential Address: Charles B. Vignoles |url=https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/imotp.1870.23072 |journal=Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers |language=en |volume=29 |issue=1870 |pages=272 |doi=10.1680/imotp.1870.23072 |issn=1753-7843 |access-date=28 July 2023|url-access=subscription }}

Other examples of the use of fascine mattresses outside the Netherlands in the 19th century include riverbank improvement works by James Buchanan Eads on the southern Mississippi, using fascines made from Poplar trees and shoots grown on the banks above Baton Rouge, and protection works using fascine mattresses made from mangroves on the coastline of British Guiana.{{Cite journal |last=Siccama |first=H.T.H. |date=1906 |title=Sea-Coast Defence-Works in the Netherlands |url=https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/imotp.1906.16649 |journal=Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers |language=en |volume=164 |issue=1906 |pages=374–384 |doi=10.1680/imotp.1906.16649 |issn=1753-7843 |access-date=28 July 2023|url-access=subscription }}

Fascine mattresses continue to be used internationally,{{Cite web |title=Fascine mattress project in Aruba |url=https://www.vanaalsburg.com/en/fascine-mattress/aruba/ |access-date=23 July 2023 |website=Van Aalsburg |language=en-US}}{{Cite journal |last=Musiake |first=K. |date=2003 |title=Hydrology and water resources in monsoon Asia: a consideration of the necessity of establishing a standing research community of hydrology and water resources in the Asia Pacific region |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hyp.1428 |journal=Hydrological Processes |language=en |volume=17 |issue=14 |pages=2701–2709 |doi=10.1002/hyp.1428 |issn=0885-6087 |access-date=14 July 2024 |bibcode=2003HyPr...17.2701M |url-access=subscription }}{{Cite journal |last1=Buchanan |first1=B.P. |last2=Walter |first2=M.T. |last3=Nagle |first3=G.N. |last4=Schneider |first4=R.L. |date=2012 |title=Monitoring and assessment of a river restoration project in central New York |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/rra.1453 |journal=River Research and Applications |language=en |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=216–233 |doi=10.1002/rra.1453 |bibcode=2012RivRA..28..216B |issn=1535-1459 |access-date=14 July 2024|url-access=subscription }} including for bed protection works in Belgium, Germany, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, and Laos, particularly in the framework of sustainable, nature-based, and development aid projects.{{Cite journal |last=Sterckx |first=T. |last2=Huygens |first2=M. |last3=Degroote |first3=P. |last4=Van Putte |first4=N. |date=2025 |title=Bankbusters: Ecosystem-based riverbank management |url=https://www.iadc-dredging.com/dfsi/bankbusters-ecosystem-based-riverbank-management/# |journal=DFSI Magazine |issue=2 |pages=22–29 |access-date=25 June 2025}}{{Cite journal |last=Molenaar |first=W. F. |date=1988 |title=Port development in Haldia |url=https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid%3A626c94c6-d4cc-4f82-bd23-ee48cb3d6cf5 |journal=Master Thesis |language=en |access-date=14 June 2024 |via=TU Delft Repository}}{{Cite journal |last1=Pinto |first1=A.A.S. |last2=Fernandes |first2=L.F.S. |last3=de Oliveira Maia |first3=R.J.F. |date=2019 |title=A method for selecting suitable technical solutions to support sustainable riverbank stabilisation |url=https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/area.12488 |journal=Area |language=en |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=285–298 |doi=10.1111/area.12488 |bibcode=2019Area...51..285P |issn=0004-0894 |access-date=14 July 2024|url-access=subscription }} One benefit of the method is that whilst these systems are labour intensive, they do not require significant capital expenditure, which is therefore an advantage in developing countries.{{cite conference |last1=Verhagen |first1=H.J. |last2=Yap |first2=J.T.L. |date=2 March 1992 |title=Coastal zone management with relation to low investment solutions |url=http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:00df3f55-c3d1-4f18-bc84-609613fdf922 |conference=PIANC-PCDC 2nd seminar on ports and inland waterways |publisher=ITS Surabaya |access-date=12 July 2024}}

• Coastal engineering
• Fascine

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{{Commons category|Fascine mattresses in the Netherlands}}

• {{Cite web| last = Decker| first = Kris De| title = Fascine Mattresses: Basketry Gone Wild| work = LOW←TECH MAGAZINE| access-date = 2023-11-21| date = 2021-11-03| url = https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2021/11/fascine-mattresses-basketry-gone-wild/}}

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