(Not sure about the flair.. sorry)
Wooden beams in earth (like with fences) rot over the years and break.
I was under the impression that this was because of water.
Shouldn’t Venice “sink” because of rotten beams?
In: Earth Science
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Because if the wood is submerged it doesn’t rot, you need to add air to the equation in order for the bacteria to get to the wood to start the decomposition process.
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Amsterdam is similarly build on a lot of wooden poles. Because the ground water has always been high enough, some of these beams easily last for centuries. I’m assuming the same principles are at work in Venice.
https://medium.com/big-questions/beautiful-amsterdam-built-on-poles-who-would-pay-if-it-all-fell-down-7ae7436a73de
as others said you need oxygen in order for it to attract organisms that can break down wood; There used to be a show called swamp loggers, where they would try to fish ancient (like 10000yr old) logs out of swamps. Then turn them into things like counter tops and different things.
The conditions of the surrounding soil actually protect the wood from rotting, the dense mud/sediment and lack of oxygen won’t allow any life forms to decompose the wood. The same phenomenon (over millions of years) is also what [turns wood into stone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrified_wood).
Follow Up Question: Is there a plan / method in place for changing the posts in place now? Have they changed out any already?
Wood doesn’t rot underwater. There is actually a lucrative business in pulling submerged trees from lakes as the wood is old and craftspeople use it for art/furniture
Not sure if it’s true, but in my childhood I have heard that they used a larch. This tree has a very dense and hard wood and absolute protection against fungus. Back in a days I helped my grandpa to build shelves in a cellar and he used larch wood for them. Many ears after ithose shelves were as good as new with no trace of decay.
I can easily believe that large poles would survive hundreds of years in the salt water with no integrity loose.
Water preserve wood. At least water in swamps. As an example, oak poles that was yout in a swamp to mark borders totally vanishes above ground in 100 years. The part that is still below the surface of the swamp are as good as new.
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