Interpreting Rope Channels: Lifting, Setting and the Birth of Greek Monumental Architecture

Abstract

The first stone ashlar blocks of Greek architecture, those of the mid-seventh-century temples at Isthmia and Corinth, pose a problem for understanding the beginnings of Greek stone construction.1 Their peculiar feature is the presence of grooves plausibly explained as a way to move the blocks with ropes. Yet scholars disagree about how these ropes would have been used, and during what stage of construction. The first excavators of the two temples suggested that the ropes would have served to lift each block into place, and were subsequently extracted from the grooves once the block had been set against its neighbour. Later scholars dismissed this theory as both inconsistent with the evidence and technically impracticable, questioning whether lifting machines were used in Greek construction as early as the mid-seventh century. Currently, the widely accepted view holds that the crane appeared in the Greek world only in the late sixth century. An alternative hypothesis is that the grooves were cut early in the construction process so that ropes could be used to manoeuvre the blocks within the quarry. However, the ‘lifting’ theory continues to have its adherents. Clarifying the significance of these parallel grooves is thus a matter of some importance to the history of Greek construction. This article reassesses the alternative theses on the basis of a new examination of the evidence, and demonstrates that the idea that the grooves served for lifting is the most plausible. Furthermore, it argues that forerunners of the crane appeared in Greece well before the late sixth century. Finally, by examining how the blocks would have been manoeuvred into place after lifting, it contends that the grooves also served the purpose of placement, with a method anticipating the Classical period's sophisticated lever technique.

7 Recent research on Greek architecture: 2012–2022

“…Other aspects of the construction process have been gleaned from the unfinished members intended for the Claros temple discovered in the Kızılburun column wreck (Aylward and Carlson 2017), or from the concerted study of an Archaic Ionic capital from Attica (Korres 2021). Experimental replications have likewise advanced our understanding of the building process: the operation of a Mycenaean saw (Blackwell 2018), or the handling of Archaic Corinthian blocks (Pierattini 2019).…”

Wooden Rockers Were Open Mould for Mudbrick or Concrete Ones

“…These grooves are quite useful as they can act as rope channels, and a rope would not be crushed between the rocker and the ground if it is engaged in the groove cf. (Pierattini, 2019). Figure 9 and Figure 11 illustrate examples how the rockers could be attached to a stone in order to roll it like Figure 10.…”

Building technique of the Theater at ancient Messene

“…The purpose of these grooves is thought to be the facilitation of ropes used to lift the blocks from the quarry [Note 39]. 9 Recently, Pierattini 8 reassessed this “lifting theory” and demonstrated that the grooves also served the purpose of placement [Note 40]. It remains unclear whether Pierattini's theory was applied to Messene Theater.…”