ARCHITECTURE FROM THE EARLY

AGE

(PRE- HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE)

 Man has developed a form of
architecture based on megaliths
(a big rock) from the Greek
word lithos (stone) and megas
(big).
 This architecture is made of
huge stone blocks which were
probably intended for burial.
 Megalithic monuments have
always ignited man’s imagination.

It provided plenty of legends and

superstition. During this era,
stones and rocks were associated
with divinity.
 Three main types of megalith
stones:
1.Menhir: a huge
stone
standing vertically
on
the ground,
usually
standing in the
middle
of the field or
arranged
in rows.
2. Dolmens: the
word
dolmen originated
from the expression
taolmaen, which
means “stone
table”.
These structures are
in a form of table
consisting of two
hugestanding stones
supporting a
horizontal giant
stone. It is believed
that it served as
grave or as an altar.
3. Cromlech: a Brythonic word
where “crom” means bent or
curved and “llech” which means
slab or flagstones. Literary it is a
circle of standing stones.
Stonehenge: best preserved megalithic site in
Europe, a group of stones arranged in
concentric circles, with a large external circle of
triliths (Greek word meaning three stones) ,
two internal circles built in a similar manner
and altar-shape stone in the center. It is a
temple where rituals were held. The structure
and the movement of the sun in the sky has a
relationship in terms of identifying the change
of the seasons which helped the primitive man
on their rituals and on their agricultural
practices.