INTRODUCTION 



surface of hard rock, the slabs were set upright on 

 it and small stones wedged in beneath them to 

 make them stand firm. Occasionally, as at 

 Mnaidra and Hagiar Kim, a course of horizontal 

 blocks set at the foot of the uprights served to 

 keep them more securely in position. With the 

 upright block technique went' hand in hand the 

 roofing of narrow spaces by means of horizontal 

 slabs laid across the top of the uprights. 



The second principle of megalithic architecture 

 was the use of more or less coursed masonry set 

 without mortar, each block lying on its side and 

 not on its edge. It is quite possible that this 

 principle is less ancient in origin than that of the 

 orthostatic slab, for it usually occurs in structures 

 of a more advanced type. Thus in simple and 

 primitive types of building such as the dolmen 

 it is most rare to find dry masonry, but in the 

 advanced corridor-tombs of Ireland, the Giants' 

 Graves and nuraghi of Sardinia, and in the 

 ' temples ' of Malta this technique is largely used, 

 often in combination with the upright slab system. 

 Indeed, this combination is quite typical of the 

 best megalithic work : a series of uprights is 

 first set in position, and over this are laid several 

 horizontal courses of rather smaller stones. We 

 must note that the dry masonry which we are 

 describing is still strictly megalithic, as the blocks 

 used are never small and often of enormous size. 



Buildings in which this system is used are 



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