Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
h e i rst known building of this nature in the ancient world is at Jericho near the
Jordan's débouche into the Dead Sea.
Early
instance
of site
develop-
ment
1.
Neolithic Jericho
At Jericho excavation revealed the remains of a massive round tower ca 10 m
in diameter and standing to almost the same height. It is built against the inner
face of a town wall, ca 3 m broad, beyond which is a rock cut fosse ca 3 m deep
(K. Kenyon,
Jericho
). Within the area excavated all these features evidence a con-
certed building project on a monumental scale carried out in the same manner.
h e stones employed are sometimes of the order of sizeable boulders, on occasion
roughly shaped. h e tower houses an internal stepped ascent where both the treads
and the rooi ng slabs are of dressed stone. h e date of this construction must be in
the 8th millenium BC, and the whole complex is in striking contrast to the mud
brick round house building of the large settlement it coni nes. h e manner of
construction of the tower complex which demands a well organised labour force,
skills in manoevering heavy boulders, and some ability to shape stone amounts to
what is generally termed Cyclopean building. h is is the name given by the Clas-
sical Greeks to the ruined fortii cations and sepultures of the Late Bronze Age, the
massive construction of which seemed to them the work of giants—the Cyclops,
titanic artisans (cf Pausanias 2.25.8).
In this manner Jericho stands at the initial stage of two signii cant ancient
building traditions: (mud) brick building and Cyclopean stone building. How-
ever whereas archaeology has revealed a continued record of the development of
brick building in the ancient world, it has revealed nothing comparable with the
Jericho stone construction until the lapse of long ages. Is this simply the accidents
of discovery, or was Neolithic Jericho an erratic singleton in the development of
building with heavy stones (boulders)?
Although the discovery of this primaeval stone construction at Jericho was
made more than 50 years ago, unfortunately as yet no study of the process of
construction has been undertaken. Neither the source of the stone, its transport
and setting nor its working into steps and slabs. In view of the apparent simplic-
ity required in operations this would seem a proi table occasion for experimental
archaeology. In any event since the complex constitutes the world's earliest known
example of a monumental building site, something must be said about it, if only
to pose questions.
Considering i rst of all the source of the more massive boulders, there are two
possible sources:
