NephiCode: Where are the Forts and Fortresses in the Land of Promise?

As was pointed out in the past post, anyone who reads the Book of Mormon knows of the wars fought between the Nephites and the Lamanites over their entire 1000-year history, except for the 250 years of peace after the appearance of the Savior. While it is written throughout the account of Alma, it is sometimes overlooked, especially by most geographical Theorists, that the Nephites spent an enormous amount of their time, especially their armies, in building fortresses, defensive stone walls around cities, and small forts, called resorts.

These latter outpost forts were obviously meant to be, in many cases, warning locations to warn against the incursion of Lamanite armies “coming down” to do battle and attack the Nephites. As an example, “the people of the Nephites saw that the Lamanites were coming upon them; therefore they made preparations for war “ (Alma 43:4), and “for they discovered the army coming, and, supposing that they were coming to destroy them, therefore they fled to Onidah, to the place of arms” (Alma 47:5), “And now it came to pass in the eleventh month of the nineteenth year, on the tenth day of the month, the armies of the Lamanites were seen approaching towards the land of Ammonihah” (Alma 49:1). Note that the warning in some cases came much in advance and allowed the Nephites to make preparations to do battle, or to flee for greater protection elsewhere. This, of course, is the value of outposts—ones that have such a vantage point of height and distance, an army can see approaching for some time from a far off location.

These small outpost forts have an advantage of seeing an approaching army from a long distance, providing time to warn the nearby city or fortress to be ready to defend themselves or flee to safer areas

But more importantly, the Nephites built forts and fortresses, and around undefended cities, built stone walls and improved defenses.

Stonewalls added for greater defense around cities made attacks more difficult

“They knew not that Moroni had fortified, or had built forts of security, for every city in all the land round about” (Alma 49:13), and “the Lamanites could not get into their forts of security by any other way save by the entrance, because of the highness of the bank which had been thrown up, and the depth of the ditch which had been dug round about, save it were by the entrance. And thus were the Nephites prepared to destroy all such as should attempt to climb up to enter the fort by any other way, by casting over stones and arrows at them” (Alma 49:18-19). And now “it came to pass that Moroni did not stop making preparations for war, or to defend his people against the Lamanites; for he caused that his armies should commence…in digging up heaps of earth round about all the cities, throughout all the land which was possessed by the Nephites. (Alma 50:1). Thus Moroni did prepare strongholds against the coming of their enemies, round about every city in all the land” (Alma 50:6) “and caused them to erect fortifications that they might secure their armies and their people from the hands of their enemies…fortifying the line between the Nephites and the Lamanites, between the land of Zarahemla and the land of Nephi” (Alma 50:10-11) and “so many cities, by their numberless hosts, all of which were strongly fortified after the manner of the fortifications of Moroni” (Alma 51:27). The Nephites went “into the city of Mulek, and sought protection in their fortifications” (Alma 52:2). “And he also sent orders unto him that he should fortify the land Bountiful” (Alma 52:9) “that he also would fortify and strengthen the cities round about, which had not fallen into the hands of the Lamanites” (Alm 52:10). “It was impossible that he could overpower them while they were in their fortifications” (Alma 52:17), and “he did employ his men in preparing for war, yea, and in making fortifications to guard against the Lamanites” (Alma 53:7), that “they should commence a labor in strengthening the fortifications round about the city Gid” (Alma 55:25), and “when I arrived at the city of Judea; and I found Antipus and his men toiling with their might to fortify the city” (Alma 56:15). “After Moroni had fortified those parts of the land which were most exposed to the Lamanites, until they were sufficiently strong” (Alma 62:42).

All of this should show that the Nephites and their armies worked diligently to fortify their lands against the Lamanites, building forts, fortifying their cities, building strong stone walls, and building small forts round about the entire land. Consequently, we should find such fortifications in the Land of Promise, not just buildings like in Mesoamerica, but actual fortresses with stone walls (Alma 48:8) as well as resorts (small forts or outposts) throughout the Nephite lands.

And such are found in the Andean area of South America. Numerous fortresses and forts, including small outposts, called resorts in the scriptures.