PREHISTORIC WORLD

Neolithic: the new Stone Age (8,000 2300 BCE),

which marked the beginnings of monumental (extremely
large) architecture

corbeled vault: a vault formed by the piling of stone

blocks in horizontal courses, cantilevered inward until the
two walls meet in an arch

post and lintel: one of the earliest methods of architectural

construction in which two posts (sometimes called
uprights) support a lintel (horizontal beam which rests
across the top)

megalith: a large stone used in the construction of a prehistoric

structure

Cromlech: a circle of megaliths, as at Stonehenge

Great stone tower built

into the settlement wall,
Jericho, ca. 8000-7000
BCE
Neolithic Jericho was protected by 5-foot-thick walls and at least one
stone tower 30 feet high and 33 feet in diameter. An outstanding
achievement that marks the beginning of monumental architecture.

Corbeled vault of the main

chamber in the passage
grave, Newgrange, Ireland,
ca. 3200-2500 BCE

The Newgrange passage grave

is an early example of
corbeled vaulting. The huge
stones (megaliths) of the
dome of the main burial
chamber beneath the tumulus
are held in place by their own
weight.

Aerial view of ruins of Hagar Qim, Malta, ca. 3200- 2500

BCE

One of the earliest stone temples in the world is on the island

of Malta. The 5,000-year-old structure is remarkably
sophisticated for its date, especially in the combination of
rectilinear and curved forms.

Stonehenge
(3100-2000 BC)

Wiltshire,
England

Aerial view (looking northwest) of Stonehenge, Salisbury

Plain, England, ca. 2550-1600 BCE. Circle is 97 in diameter;
trilithons 24 high.

The circles of trilithons at Stonehenge probably functioned as an

astronomical observatory and solar calendar. The sun rises over
its heel stone at the summer solstice. Some of the megaliths
weigh 50 tons.

Neolithic architecture

Post and lintel construction

Megaliths are 21 to 24 feet tall, including height of lintel, and

buried four feet in the ground

Solar and lunar orientation

Stones dragged from far away to this site

Circle of megaliths embrace structure, enclosing it

Inside circle of megaliths is a larger horseshoe-shaped group of

megaliths which frame an Altar Stone

Horseshoe-shaped stones face midsummer sunrise over Heel

Stone

Altar Stone is a green sandstone taken from a mine in Wales,

over 200 miles away

Heaviest stones 50 tons apiece, hauled by sledges (sleds)

Tools for building: ropes, levers, rollers, axes

Built in several phases over hundreds of years on a sacred site

on Salisbury Plain

Several
Phases
(stages) of
Construction

Plan of Stonehenge in
2004. Trilithon lintels
omitted for clarity.
Holes that no longer, or
never, contained stones
are shown as open
circles. Stones visible
today are shown
coloured.

The lintels (horizontal monoliths) were fitted to one another using a

woodworking method, the tongue-and-groove joint

 Each

stone had clearly been worked with the

final visual effect in mind; the pillars widen
slightly towards the top, in order that their
perspective remains constant when viewed
from the ground. The lintel stones curve
slightly to continue the circular appearance of
the earlier monument. The inward-facing
surfaces of the stones are smoother and more
finely worked than the outer surfaces.

bluestones
Sarsen
stones

Open end
Facing East
trilithons

Lintels
Stonehenge

were probably prototypes of the Pyramids in

Egypt and of the beehive huts in Wales,
Cornwall, Scotland , and Ireland

BEEHIVE HUT

 Consisted

of wooden huts built on piles in the

water for protection against attack