A fascine (pronounced , "fa-SEEN") is a rough bundle of brushwood used for strengthening an earthen structure, or making a path across uneven or wet terrain. Such bundles were used in military defences for revetting (shoring up) trenches or ramparts, especially around artillery batteries, or filling in ditches. Military fascine bridges were used as early as Roman times.

First World War tanks started the practice of carrying fascines on the roof, to be deployed to provide traction and support over rough ground and to fill trenches that would otherwise be an obstacle to the tank. Some modern tanks are still equipped to carry and deploy fascines. Although these now consist of large bundles of heavy plastic pipes and are referred to as pipe fascines.

Fascines can be found outside a military context, protecting the banks of streams from erosion, covering marshy ground and so on.

See also

• fascine knife
• fasces
• ferula

External links

• A paper on the use of fascines for draining inclines

Faschine | Artillery | Fortification