Abstract: The method of combining barbed wire and conventional bags to create structures includes the steps of: providing a plurality of bags; filling the bags with a predetermined mixture of organic, manufactured, recycled, particulate, fill material; stacking and arranging the bags in a predetermined array; and, placing at least one strand of barbed wire or similar wire between at least a major portion of the stacked layers of bags as they are being stacked to create frictional resistance to sliding between layers and tensile strength in a wall or other structure formed by the stacked layers of bags thereby to provide earthquake resistant structures. The structures include a building structure retaining wall, and an erosion resistant embankment for a body of water made by the method. The bags can be of different length, the fill material can include a cementious material thereby to create a permanent structure and one to three spaced apart strands of barbed wire can be used between layers of bags.