Glossary · A
Ashlar
Also called ashlar masonry
Masonry of stones cut square and laid in regular courses with fine joints.
See also: Cyclopean masonry
Rules that use the word
Coursed ashlar for the holiest places. For the most sacred buildings lay rectangular blocks in level courses that diminish in height towards the top of the wall, with pillowed faces and joints closed without mortar.
Cyclopean walls. Build fortification walls of huge, roughly shaped limestone blocks, with small stones packed into the gaps between them; reserve cut ashlar for gates and façades.
Where it appears in the book
In the chapters Walls and Openings, The Classical World, The Americas.
A feature of Aegean Bronze Age, Andean, Ancient Greek, Mannerism architecture.
Nearby in the glossary
Arch brace · Architrave · Arithmetic mean · Arris · Astragal · Atrium · Attic · Attic base