Term: Rubble masonry
– Square Rubble Masonry:
– Stones are dressed before laying in mortar.
– Forms the outer surface of a wall.
– History:
– Irregular rubble masonry evolved from embankments covered with boards, stones, or bricks.
– Sadd el-Khafara dam in Egypt, dating back to 2900 – 2600 BC, is an example.
– Greeks used emplekton in the construction of defensive walls.
– Romans called it opus caementicium and extensively used it.
– Modern construction often uses cast concrete with internal steel reinforcement.
– See Also:
– Snecked masonry is made of mixed sizes of stone in regular courses.
– Wattle and daub is conceptually analogous to rubble within ashlar.
– Gallery:
– Wall at Grave Circle A, Mycenae, Greece, 16th century BCE.
– Rubble masonry core of Alai Minar in the Qutb complex, India, c.1316 CE.
– References:
– “A Dictionary of Architecture” by Fleming, Honour, & Pevsner.
– “Rubble masonry” in Encyclopaedia Britannica.
– “Advanced dam engineering for design, construction, and rehabilitation” by Robert B. Jansen.
– “Emplekton Masonry and Greek Structural” by RA Tomlinson.
– “Ancient Greek fortifications 500-300 BC” by Nic Fields & Brian Delf.
Rubble masonry or rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Some medieval cathedral walls have outer shells of ashlar with an inner backfill of mortarless rubble and dirt.
