Cross section of a retaining wall, ruins on the ocean

The ruins of this retaining wal show a good view of the cross section of the construction. It’s hard to see the base at grade and the footing is underground. Yet you can see exactly how the watertable and stone coping attach to the rubble stone construction of the wall.

In this case the water table is in the stretcher position. For residential homes and commercial buildings, often where you find the water table it will be coincidence a damp proof course, for example at the top of the foundation.