Background

Some of the earliest building techniques included what we term today as Megalithic Masonry. This technique enabled the builder to construct crude structures by the use of rough cut stones and joining was done without the aid of mortar or cement. Stones, or more appropriately, boulders, would be irregular in shape and rely on the aid of gravity, friction or partial burial to keep them in place.

Megalithic construction is also sometimes referred to as Monolithic but that term often refers to singular stone structures such as menhirs, carnac stones and general columns.

A sub form of this masonry is referred to as Cyclopean masonry, which is specific to Mycenaean architecture where limestone boulders are rough-cut and stacked to form walls, often with a shallow foundation. Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece, southwest of current day Athens. During the period from 1600 BC to 1100 BC Mycenae was the center of Greek civilization and dominated the area. The Mycenaean builders realized that enormous, thick walls created the best defensive structure and relied on them heavily in the creation of their citadel to protect and defend the city.

We derive the name Cyclopean masonry from this building style and a bit of Greek literature and mythology. We know the Cyclops as a child of the marriage of Uranus and Gaia. Known as brothers to the Titans, three Cyclopes are noted by Hesiod, those being Brontes (thunder), Steropes(lightning) and Arges (brightness, as from lightning). These three were locked in Tartarus, a dungeon of torment, by their father, as he feared they would overthrow him. Subsequently they were released by Zeus to craft lightning bolts for him as Zeus sought to overthrow Cronus. According to the hymn of Callimachus the Cyclopes were helpers at Hephaestus’ forge (they god of blacksmiths) and as such the Cyclopes were giants well versed in crafting with metal and built the weapons of the gods in their quest to defeat the Titans. As Hephaestus is the Greek counterpart of Vulcan they are tied to the ability to craft with brass and iron. Often depicted as one-eyed beasts in modern portrayal, they were thought of quite differently by ancients. In point of fact, it was a custom by ancient blacksmiths to wear an eyepatch to protect them from flying sparks and potentially being blinded in both eyes. It is assumed that only the Cyclops, with his brutish nature, could possibly have constructed the structures at Mycenae, Tiryns or Cyprus.

Other Cyclopean buildings can be found elsewhere in the world such as Italy and South America. The people of Machu Picchu built enormous structures from found and quarried rock. The layering of their work shows actual intricate detail in the methods of joining stone, but most of this work requires little skill other than cutting and laying. Structural integrity in these cases requires simple balancing and weight to keep things in place.

An alternate form of structure found even in early Northeastern America up to 4000 BC includes the building of cairns, which are intentionally piled stones into formal structures, again not using mortar. These are simple buildings or structures, sometimes used as homes, storage, grave markers or even ovens. These small structures are crude and require little skill to construct, other than a creative mind and ability to stack or pile stones.

Historical Megaliths

There are a number of extreme forms of megaliths found throughout the world, some of these include Stonehenge , Giza, Carnac, Ollantaytambo and Teotihuacan. Each of these megalithic sites required moving large amounts of material over vast distances. Stonehenge in Britian required the ancients to transport over 80 bluestones from the mountains in Wales, some 250 miles to the current location. The ancients constructed the site in many phases.