Egyptian builders used the reconstituted
stone technique right up to the end of the Greek and Roman periods. Photographs
of various temples built on the banks of the Nile at the time are excellent
examples.
Improvements were made in the technique: blocks were anchored to each other
for example. This enabled them to resist earthquakes better.
In the reign of the pharaoh Imnotep IV, (Amenophis IV in Greek, called Akhenaton,
the father of Tutankhamen – 1372 to 1345 BC), the first precast building
blocks in the history of mankind were invented. They were made of reconstituted
stone one cubit long (roughly 50 cm = 20 inches), half a cubit wide and
half a cubit high. These standardised stones, called talatas, could be used
in any position making building much easier. They were doubtless not that
stable during earthquakes. Their use was abandoned, and the constructions
built using this technique under the heretic king were destroyed. They served
as infilling and in the earthworks for new buildings.
Since the end of the Egyptian civilisation, and subsequent to the Greek
and Roman periods, no trace of reconstituted stone has been found. The repression
of the Egyptians had been violent, and the builders probably refused to
disclose their secrets to the new barbarian power who persecuted them.
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| This temple was built on the island of Philae. When the Aswan Dam
was built it was taken down and re-erected on another island above
the new water level. |
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| Some blocks were anchored to others using a dove-tailed key (the
black shapes). |
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Set : Ignorance
