Cyclops masonry

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cyclops masonry in Stockholm
Cyclops masonry in Mallorca
Cyclops technique in the wall of the Ses Païsses complex
Lesbian masonry: retaining wall of the Temple of Apollo in Delphi (6th century BC)

The cyclopean or Polygonalmauerwerk is a special form of dry stone masonry of very large, irregular stones, which the carefully layered. In the case of material in stock and a more or less geometric appearance of the visible side of the wall, one speaks of quarry stone masonry, in the case of an irregular polygonal visible surface of a Cyclops masonry. The joint pattern is irregular and without horizontal joints. Often it is a double-shell wall with a filling of stones and clay.

The lesbian masonry (named after the island of Lesbos ) is a special form . It consists of stones in a curve polygonal shape, which is why one speaks of curve polygonal masonry. With this technique, the joints are wavy. It first appeared in the Archaic Period in Greece . In Italy the polygonal masonry was called "opus siliceum".

History and current construction

The Cyclops technique had been widespread in the Mediterranean and in Western and Northern Europe (there as a megalithic construction ) since the Neolithic Age . In addition to the curtain walls of the Mycenaean culture of Greece, the talayots of the Balearic Islands and the nuraghi on Sardinia are characteristic Cyclops buildings.

In the late Bronze Age , this masonry technique was widespread in the eastern Mediterranean, mostly using very large stones and no mortar. Cyclops masonry can be found in Mycenae in particular . The name of the Cyclops technique was derived from the Cyclops , the mythical builders of the city walls in Tiryns and Mycenae.

Cyclopean walls were also used by the Etruscans and other pre-Roman peoples in Italy as well as in the Hittite Empire in Asia Minor and its successor states until the 3rd century BC. Built in BC. The Great Wall of China was also partly built using this construction method and this construction method can be found in Malta , Corsica , Peru ( Incas ), Egypt and Easter Island .

In today's use of the Cyclops masonry, only unprocessed or very little processed rubble stones are used. Moreover, it often is at the used stones to hard to work hard stones . The quarry stones are joined together in a proper bond using mortar , leaving the narrowest possible joints and no cavities. Any cavities that may arise are filled with small stones and mortar. There are no regular layers and the internal strength or cohesion of the masonry is reduced compared to other masonry techniques.

Today the old drywall technique z. B. New meaning in the building of the wall by the winemakers. Since 1986 there has been a school for dry stone construction in Sóller on Mallorca , the Escola de magers de Mallorca . In two and a half years, the apprentices are trained in the skilled trades of the skinny .

Web links

Commons : Cyclops Masonry  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. iDAI.vocab: lesbian masonry
  2. LKG technical terms: Masonry ( Memento of the original from June 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.elkage.de