This invention relates to shields for protecting a civil engineering work from the destructive effects of earthquakes. A shield according to the invention comprises a plurality of individual islands which are implanted in the ground around the work to be protected and which present mechanical properties different from those of the ground in order to attenuate the seismic surface waves. The islands may be masses of ground compressed between an anchoring means driving in the ground and a sole placed on the ground and connected to the anchoring means by a connecting means under tension. The islands may also be bores or wells filled with granular or pulverulent materials. One application of the invention is the protection of industrial plants or dwellings in order to avoid destruction thereof by earthquakes.
