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Stones upon the void

Felix Escrig

Prof, of School of Architecture of Seville*. E.T.S. Arquitectura. Avda.ReinaMercedes, 2. 41012. Sevilla, Spain E-mail: [email protected].

On the shores of the Mediterranean Sea dead long clay stone mountains enter in thecontinent as stepped and abrupt topography. Some of the most ancient civilisationshave born in this rocky lands and have survived on thin soils as shepherds, fishersor sailors. This was a wild world where the warriors stole the neighbours that lackedin their lands, where the explorers looked for paradises that sang their poets.Civilisation was highly elaborated and carefully transmitted.

Far away they were rich valleys with wide rivers. But the Mediterranean peoplemust gain inch by inch every piece of land where to sow by eliminating pebbles, bylevelling the stepped hills or transporting the soil from the ravines to the land. Theymust to squeeze the water from every where to plant the vine, the olive tree, thealmond tree or the fig tree. It is in this context, poor by very well administratedwhere greatest structural revolution was produced.

They are not very much wood and the climate causes fire and rot. Cane, earthand vegetal fibres are the usual materials to build. Clay is the most cohesivematerial. The Mediterranean house is at the beginning a little hut with narrowwindows. The prismatic cons-truction were piled and leaned oneto each other along narrow streetsthat configured the village and theonly open spaces were placed inthe internal courts.

But at the same time an otherarchitecture with more complexity andpermanence is being achieved. It isbased in the stone. This system isbased in the facility for be frag-mented Figure 1. Plan and cross section of the Romeral Cave.

Transactions on the Built Environment vol 39 © 1999 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509

380 Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Historical Buildings

the clay stones in such waythat they produce flat pieceseasy to be piled as walls orto be used as tiles.

But for roofs there is notother solution that usewood beams. This isbecause the invention ofthe dome is so important.At the first the roofs werebased on corbelled roofs atit was necessary to awaitfor centuries for othersolutions. But this corbe-

lled system was so useful, so safe and easy of be build that we can consider thatwe are in front of one of best types of roofing.

Figure 2. Entrance corridor ofthe Romeral Cave.

Figure 3. Walls of the RomeralCave.

We are not talking of great megalithic buildings made of gread stones as done in Menga(Malaga) or StoneHergue (Salisbury). Near of Menga it is the Romeral Cave made withlittle pieces of stone piled in leaned walls till they close at upper with a key stone. 4500years B.C. an advanced civilisation build this room with 5.2 m of diameter and 3.9 m.height. The Figure 1 shows vertical and horizontal sections. Figures 2 shows the entrancecorridor where we can see the perfection of the walls in the Figure 3.

In Portugal they are a lot of corridor tombs like this one and in the Figure 4 we showsome of them.

In Menorca (Spain) they are impressive monuments as the Naveta des Tudons (Fi-gure 5) build by the same system but with in a two floor rectangular plan. This wasinm 1500 BC, while the Mediterranean lands are plenty of this kind of constructions.Los Millares in Almeria (Figure 6), Ontiveros, Matarrubilla o LaPastora (Figure 7)are some of the most importants in Andalusia. But France, Italy or the MediterraneanIslands build with this system yet.

Figure 4. Tombs in Portugal. Figure 5. Naveta dels Tudons in Menorca.


Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Historical Buildings 381

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Figure 6. Cave of Millares (Almeria).

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Figure 7. Cave of la Pastora in Valencina(Sevilla).

;; ..''f&3j£^ ^ _ _

•• tef£: p-*> ?S? p= p:.to'S* -V •: -"-, :A ^.:V?'=aTi :-.:

Figure 8. Schematic section of Atreo Treasury in Micene.

In 1350 BC, in the Peloponeso the technique is so depurated that the Greeks canbuild a perfect dome. The Atreo Treasure was the greatest dome build till thePantheon in Rome. The Agamemnon Tomb as it is known, in Micene, is a circularroom 14.6 m. wide and 13.5 m. height where we arrive along a corridor with amagnificent appearance. The cross section is parabolic although slightly pointed asa gothic profile (Figure 8). The dome is constructed with one tone stones perfectlyfaceted completely decorated (Figure 9). The curved lintel and the corbelled archupon it reveals a good knowledge of the constructive problems (Figure 10). The hillbuild on it with earth helps to stabilise the whole and probably was used to place thestones till its place.

We can ask how the system works and why if it was correct it was not used in thelater monuments.

Syrmakezis in the Reference 23 or Escrig in the Reference 12 analyse some recentGreek constructions and do a detailed analysis . We obtain an stable profile for thiskind of construction that we represent in the Figure 11.

As the scale not change the relationship this Figure is useful to adjust any building. Wecan see The Atreo Tomb, but also other constructions as shown in the Figures 12 to 14.



'igure 9. Dome of the Atreo Treasure in Micenas

"1 \\\ Zona de estabiiidadPerfil del Tesoro

de Atreo

Figure 10. Entrance to the main room.

Figure 11. Stable profile of Corbelled Domes. Figure 12. Actual buildings in Crete. Cross Section.

This structural system has a lot of advantages:a) It permits the use of stones without form.b) It is possible to build without scaffolding.c) They are not horizontal loads produced.d) They are not bending moments nor fissures.e) It permits to introduce openings vithougt change the tensional equilibrium.

The inconveniences such as heavy dead loads, the deep walls and the high profilesare not enough to explain why this system is practically obsolete.

After Mycenic civilisation the Greek people chose other constructive systems basedon pillars and lintels and the Mediterranean shores were conditioned by this fact.But fortunately nearly the coasts this civilisation scarcely influenced. Where thestone was the only abundant material people used the only way of cover the hutsthat they know for permanence, the corbelled domes.



Figure 13. Figure 14. Internal view of Figure 12.

C

Figure 15. Huts in Castellon, by Garcia Lison.

In the Maestrazgo, the east coast of Spain, stone masons build with this system yet.References 12, 14 and 18 contains many of these examples. The figure 15 showsdifferent types of buildings. And Figures 16 to 22 shows pictures of these examples.Figures 23 and 24 shows scheme of two of them.

In Apulia, in front of the Adriatic sea, in Alberobello, they are a considerable numberof houses that are the main tourist attraction. The Trully were at first build as a cheapand easy to be dismantled houses. The legend tells how the people take the buildsapart when they knew that the collector arrived to erect them another time when heleave Reference 27 explains this type of construction that has the same profile thanthe Agamenon Tomb. Figures 25 to 28 shows genered views of Alberobello.

It is long to extend the classification of every place where these domes were build.But not only along the Mediterranean countries were done. In Britain , were the tin



Figure 20 Figure 21

Figure 16 to 22. Several examples of shepherhuts.

Figure 22. Inner views of previous examples (Fig.28 and 29).

Figure 23. Dimensions of atypical shepher huit in ElMaestrazgo.



Figure 24. Dimensions of a typical shepher huit in El Maestrazgo.

1

Figure 25. General view of Alberobello. Figure 26. General view of Alberobello.

Figure 27. General view of Alberobello.

trade, connected two civilisations, were also proud of erect stone eggs. Yvias inEngland (Figure 28), New Grange, Dowth and Knouth in Ireland were build from2500 to 1700 BC.

Even Christian monks in the VII Century build in this way. For instance in Gallarus,Dingle (Figure 29).



Also in France, in the Perigord, we find now a curious huts named Bories wery welldone. The Breuil Cabanes in Salat are also a tourist curiosity (Figures 30 and 31).Even it is now a craft school to teach this technique (Figures 32 and 33).

In the Middle East, in Siria, the Honeycomb houses are based in the same principlesalthough made in brick (Reference 24). They are grouped around a court (Figure 34).Each dome is placed on deep walls and cover areas till 5x5 sqm. and as high as 4.5 m.(Figure 35). For rectangular pieces two domes are supported by an intermediate arch.

With this selection we do not try to use the subject up. Almost every countryhas examples in this way. But we want to call about the great interest of thistype of domes that were used from the remote time, passing by the etrusques inits tombs as Casale Maritime (Figure 36), Montagnola (Figure 37) or Cervetery(Figure 38) till now.

Other great civilisations used these principles for other types of architectonicalproposals, as Pagodas and Stupas, all them based in the Cantilever beam.

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Figure 28. Tomb of Inas in England.

Figure 29. Group of Bories en Sarlat in thefrench Perigord.

Figure 29. Oratory of Gallans in Ireland.

Figure 30. Inner view of a Borie.



r *" i*rkW;^ z&<Figure 32. Building a Bone. Figure 33. Building a Bone.

Clique do houe

Figure 34. Honey comb house in Syria. Figure 35. Cross section of a Honey comb house.

Figure 36. Etrusque tomb in Casale maritime(Etruria).

Figure 37. Etrusque tomb in Montagnola.



REFERENCES.

BLANCO FREIJEIRO, A. Arte Antiguo del Asia Anterior.Sevilla, Universidad, 1975.^ Id.: Arte Griego. Madrid, C.S.I.C., 19842BOETHIUS, A. «Etruscan and Early Roman Architecture)).Yale university Press. USA. 1994.4CARRIAZO, J. de la M. «Arquitecture Prehistorica». Car-

tillas de Arquitectura Espanola. Madrid. 1929.* CHASSAGNOUX, A. «Persian vaulted Architecture:

Figure 38. etrusque tomb in Cervetery Morphology and equilibrium of vaults under static and(Etruria). dynamic loads)). Structural Studies of Historical Buildings

IV. Computational Mechanics Pub. Southampton, 1995.^ COLL, G.; GONZALEZ, R ; HOLTZMAN, B. «E1 gran arte de la Arquitectura. Roma».^ CONANT, K. J. Arquitectura Carloingia y Romanica. 800-1200. Manuales Arte Catedra. Madrid1982.

** CORZO SANCHEZ, R. La antiguedad. Historia del Arte en Andalucia. T. I. Sevilla, Gever, 1989.9CHILDE, G. Los origenes de la civilizacion. Mexico, Fondo de Cultura Economica, 1954DANIEL, G «Conjuntos megaliticos», en Investigacion y Ciencia, 48 (Septiembre, 1980), pp. 42-52ESCRIG, F. «Towers and Domes in Architecture)). Cumputational mechanic Publications.Southampton, 1998.ESCRIG, F «Las grandes estructuras de los edificios historicos: desde la antiguedad hasta el goti-

co)). Institute Universitario de Ciencias de la Construccion. Sevilla, 1977.^ FLETCHER'S, B. «A HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE)). Butterworths. 19 ed., London 1987*4 GARCIA LISON, M. Y ZARAGOZA CATALAN, A. «Arquitectura Rural primitiva en Seca».Temes d'Etnografia Valenciana. Institut Alfons el Magnanin, 1982.GIMENEZ REINA, S. «Los Dolmenes de Antequera)). Biblioteca Antequera. Caja de Ahorros de

Antequera, 1974.^ GUIDONI, E. Arquitectura primitiva. Madrid, Aguilar, 1980.^ LLOYD, S. Y MULLER, H. W. Arquitectura de los origenes. Madrid, Aguilar, 19801 O

MESEGUER, V. & SIMO, J. «E1 patrimonio etnologico de Canet lo Roig». Publicaciones delCentro d'Estudies del Maestrat. Benicarlo, 1997.

toORTEGA ANDRADE, F. «Historias de la Construccion. Mesopotamia, Egipto, Grecia y Etruria.

Libro Primero)). Publicaciones de la Universidad de Las Palmas, 1993.20 PIJOAN, J. «Historia del Arte». Tomo I. Edl Salvar, 1974RENFREW, C. «Arqueologia social de los monumentos megaliticos», en Investigacion y Ciencia,88 (Enero, 1984), pp. 70-79RIBA, D Y MOULIN, J. El enigma de los primeros constructors. Barcelona, Libroexpres, 1981.

^ SYRMAKEZIS, C. «Las cupulas en Creta». Museo Cretense de Etnologia. 1988 (in greek ).SOUZA GOIS, M.I. «Cupulas de Tierra)). Trabajo de doctorado ETSA de Sevilla. Prof. Escrig,1995.Nopublicado.

^ TRACHTENBERG, M. Y HYMAN, I. «Arquitectura. De la Prehistoria a la Modernidad». Akal.Arte y Ciencia, 1990VELAZQUEZ BOSCO, R. «Camaras sepulcrales descubiertas en termino de Antequera». Revista

de Archives, Bibliotecas y Museos, nl 9. 1905VERNICE, B. «Los Trulli)>. Primer Congreso de Historia de la Construccion. Madrid 1996. pp.

515-523.


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