Dry stones, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane , are building methods in which structures are constructed of stone without dimples to bind them together. The dry stone structures are stable due to their unique construction method, which is characterized by the burden of façade carefully selected stones.
Dry stone construction is best known in the context of stone walls, traditionally used for borders of fields and church yard, or as retaining walls for terraces, but dry stone sculptures, buildings, bridges, and other structures also exist.
Video Dry stone
History
Some construction of dry stone walls in north-western Europe has returned to the Neolithic Age. Some of the Cornish hedges are believed by the Guild of Cornish Hedgers to date from 5000 BC, although there seems to be little evidence of dating. In County Mayo, Ireland, the entire field system made of dry stones, covered with peat, has been dated to 3800 BC. The cyclopean walls of the Mycenae acropolis have been dated to 1350 BC and the people of Tiryns are a bit early. In Belize, Mayan ruins in Lubaantun illustrate the use of dry stone construction in 8th and 9th century AD architecture.
Maps Dry stone
Location and terminology
Terminology varies regionally. When used as a field boundary, dry stone structures are often known as embankments, especially in Scotland. Dry stone walls are characteristic of the highlands of England and Ireland where natural or large rock outcrops are present in quantities on the ground. They are abundant in the West of Ireland, especially Connemara. They can also be found throughout the Mediterranean, including retaining walls used for terracing. Such construction is common when large boulders are abundant (eg, in The Burren) or too hard conditions for hedges that are able to keep cattle to be planted as reliable field boundaries. Many thousands of miles of such a wall exist, most of them centuries old.
In the United States they are common in areas with rocky terrain, such as New England, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and are an important characteristic of the central bluegrass region of Kentucky as well as Virginia, where they are commonly referred to as the stone fence or rock fence , and the Napa Valley in northern central California. Construction techniques are brought to America primarily by British and Scottish-Irish immigrants. This technique was also brought to Australia (especially Western Victoria and parts of Tasmania and New South Wales) and New Zealand (mainly Otago).
A similar wall is also found in the Swiss-Italian border region, where they are often used to attach open space under large natural rocks or outcrops.
Larger fields and grasslands on the South-West Bohemian border of the lava (eg around the Vydra mountain stream) are often lined by dry stone walls constructed from rocks removed from arable land or culture. They serve both as a fence/sheep and many borders of it. Sometimes also dry stone terraces are clearly visible, often combined with stone parts (foundations of houses and warehouse walls) united by clay mortar-cum-needle "composite".
In Peru in the 15th century, the Inca utilized unusable slopes by constructing dry stone walls to create terraces. They also use this construction mode for free-standing walls. Construction of their ashlar type in Machu Picchu uses the classic Inca style of architecture from a polished dry stone wall with the usual shape. The Incas are the engineers, where the stone blocks are cut to fit together tightly without mortar. Many of the intersections were so perfect that there was not even a knife fitted between the stones. The structures have survived in high seismic regions due to the flexibility of walls and in their double wall architecture, the two halves of the walls are tilted to each other.
Construction
Wall styles and construction methods will vary, depending on the type of stone available, intended use and local traditions. Most older walls are constructed of rocks and stones cleared from the fields during preparation for farming ( pitch stones) but many of the rocks are excavated nearby. For modern walls, minerals are almost always used. The type of wall constructed will depend on the available stone properties.
One type of wall is called a "double wall" and is built by placing two rows of rock along the boundary that will be walled. The foundation stones are ideally arranged into the soil so that they can adhere strongly to the soil layer. The lines consist of large flat stones, smaller as the walls increase. Smaller stones can be used as chocks in areas where natural stone shapes are more rounded. The walls are built to the desired layer-by-layer height (of course of course ) and, at intervals, large tie stones or through stones are placed that extend both the face of the wall and sometimes project. It has the effect of bonding what should be two thin walls leaning against each other, greatly increasing the strength of the walls. Reduces the width of the wall as it gets higher, as it is traditionally done in the UK, also strengthens the walls. The cavity between the facing stone is carefully packed with smaller stones ( fills , heart ).
The last layer at the top of the wall is also made up of large stones, called limestone, or coping stones, or seeks. Just like the stone, the hood covers the entire width of the wall and prevents it from breaking. In some areas, such as South Wales, there is a tradition of putting the rocks over the flat end layer of stone slightly wider than the top of the right wall ( head cover ).
In addition to the gates, the walls may contain smaller gaps that are intentionally made for paths or control of wildlife and livestock such as sheep. Smaller holes are usually no more than 8 inches in height called 'Bolt Holes' or 'Smoots'. The larger one may be between eighteen and 24 inches high, this is called 'Cripple Hole'.
The stone wall is a type of single wall where the wall consists mainly of large boulders, where smaller stones are placed. The single wall works best with large flat rocks. Ideally, the largest stones are placed at the bottom and the entire wall shrinks towards the top. Sometimes a row of periphery stones completes the top of the wall, with the long rectangular sides of each tombstone perpendicular to the wall alignment.
The Galloway embankment consists of a double wall construction base or a large stone with a single wall construction on top. They look like rickety, with lots of holes, which block cattle (and humans) from trying to cross them. These embankments are mainly found in locations with very high winds, where solid walls may be at risk of being lost by pounding. The porous nature of the walls significantly reduces the strength of the wind but requires greater skill to build. They are also found in grazing areas where they are used to maximize the utility of available stones (where plowing does not rise any more rocks).
Another variation is the "Cornish hedge" or Welsh clawdd, which is a rocky earth bank topped with grass, shrubs, or trees and characterized by a tight arch (slope) slope). As with many other types of walls, the height is the same as the base width, and the top is half of the base width.
Different areas have made slight modifications to common methods of construction - sometimes due to the limitations of available building materials, but also to creating a distinctive look for the area. Any method used to build a dry stone wall, requires considerable skill. Correcting any errors would mean eliminating to the error level. Choosing the right rock for every position on the wall makes a big difference for the lifetime of the finished product, and an expert wallman will take time to make choices.
Like many old crafts, skilled wallers, today, the numbers are few. With the advent of modern wire fences, fields can be fenced with less time and cost of using wire than using stone walls; however, the initial cost of embankment construction is offset by its strength and long life-long maintenance life. As a result of the increasing appreciation of the landscape and the inheritance value of the dry stone wall, the waller remains in great demand, as does the wall itself. A nationally recognized certification scheme operated in the UK by the Dry Stone Walling Association, with four grades from Initial to Master Craftsman.
Important examples include:
- Morne Wall: twenty-two-mile-long wall at the Morne Mountains site in County Down, Northern Ireland
- The Ottenby nature reserve, built by Charles X Gustav in the mid-17th century, ÃÆ'-land, Sweden
Other uses
While dry-stone techniques are generally used for field enclosures, also used for buildings. The highland black house built of grassland was built using the method of double dry stone walls. When buildings are built using this method, the center of the wall is generally filled with soil or sand to remove the wind. During the Iron Age, and perhaps earlier, this technique was also used to build castles such as the walls of Eketorp Castle (ÃÆ' Â ¢ land, Sweden), Maiden Castle, North Yorkshire, Reeth, Dunlough Castle in southwest Ireland and the castle of Long Scar Dyke. Many of the existing dry-stone walls in Scotland can date from the 14th century or earlier when they were built to divide the fields and raise livestock. Some excellent examples are found in the land of Muchalls Castle.
Dry stone walls can be built on embankments or even vertical terraces. If they are exposed to lateral ground pressures, they resist the walls of the gravitational wall type. Heavy stones withstand the pressure of retained land, including surcharges, and friction between rocks cause most of them act as if they are monolithic gravity walls of equal weight. Dry stone retaining walls were once built in large quantities for farm terraces and also to carry roads, roads and railways. Although dry stones are rarely used for this purpose today, many are still used and maintained. New ones are often built in gardens and natural conservation areas. The dry stone retaining structure continues to be the subject of research.
Since at least the Middle Ages several bridges capable of carrying horse or carriage traffic have been built using the drystone technique. An example of a well preserved bridge of this type is the double curved stone limestone bridge in Alby, Sweden on the island of ÃÆ'-land, (shown right) .
In northeastern Somalia, on the coastal plain 20 km east of Aluula found the ruins of ancient monuments in a platform style. This structure is formed by a low rectangular rectangular stone wall; the space in between is filled with debris and covered manually with small stones. A relatively large stone stand is also positioned in the corner of the building. Near the platform is a grave, lined with rocks. Dimensions 24 m by 17 m, the structure is the largest of a series of ancient platforms and closed platform monuments exclusive to northeastern Somalia. The burial site near Burao in the northwest part of the country also has a number of old stela.
In Great Britain, Ireland, and Switzerland, it is possible to find small dry stone structures constructed as a mark, marking a mountainous path or boundary of land. In many countries, cairns, as they are called in Scotland, are used as road and mountain markers.
Gallery
See also
- Anathyrosis
- Broch
- Cabanes du Breuil
- Great Zimbabwe
- Mending Walls
- Nuraghe
- Stora Alvaret
- Trullo
- Village des Bories
References
Further reading
- Colonel F. Rainsford-Hannay, Dry Stone Walling , Faber & amp; Faber. 1957
- Alan Brooks and Sean Adcock, Dry Stone Walling, handy handbook , TCV. ISBN 2013 0946752192
- Carolyn Murray-Wooley & amp; Karl Raitz, Bluegrass Rock Fence , University Press Kentucky. 1992.
- Dry Wall Walling Association, Dry Stone Walling, Technique and Tradition . 2004
- Louis Cagin & amp; Laetitia Nicolas, Construire en pierre sÃÆ'¨che , ÃÆ' Â © ditions Eyrolles. 2008
- Patrick McAfee, The Irish Stone Wall: History, Building, Conservation , The O'Brien Press. 2011
- Alen MacWeeney (fotog.) & amp; Richard Conniff, The Stone Walls of Ireland . London: Thames & amp; Hudson, 1986 ISBN: 9780711213722; New York: Stewart, Tabori & amp; Chang, 1986
External links
- How to build a dry stone wall
- Canadian Dry Rock Walling Association
- The Australian Dry Rock Wall Association
- The Irish Dry Stone Wall Association
- British Wall Rocks Walling Association
- Recent Archaeological Records on Working Day repair dry stone walls
- The Drystone Conservancy, USA
- Alpter Project, Landscapes Storied from Alpine Arc, an association network in Western Europe
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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