cyclopean masonry
- noun
- /ˌsaɪkləˈpiːən ˈmeɪsənri/
- Specialized
:
mampostería ciclópea
- The ancient walls of Mycenae are famous for their cyclopean masonry, constructed from enormous limestone boulders.
He says that they came upon a coastline of mingled mud ooze and weedy cyclopean masonry.
- He says that they came upon a coastline of mingled mud ooze and weedy cyclopean masonry.
Examples
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The fortress featured cyclopean masonry, with rough-hewn stones seamlessly interlocked without the use of mortar.
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Archaeologists studied the cyclopean masonry techniques used by early civilizations in the Mediterranean region.
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The ancient ruins featured stunning cyclopean masonry.
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Have you seen the cyclopean masonries in Mycenae?
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The ancient walls of Mycenae are famous for their cyclopean masonry, constructed from enormous limestone boulders.
-
The fortress featured cyclopean masonry, with rough-hewn stones seamlessly interlocked without the use of mortar.
-
Archaeologists studied the cyclopean masonry techniques used by early civilizations in the Mediterranean region.
How Massive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'cyclopean' (meaning very large/massive) combined with 'masonry' (stone construction) yields a directly compositional sense of very large or massive stonework, so a learner who knows both words can infer the general meaning. While the precise archaeological detail (irregular stones fitted without mortar) is more specialized and not fully predictable, the core meaning is transparently derived from the constituents.
Etymology
The term cyclopean masonry comes from cyclopean, a name linked to the Cyclopes, the giant one-eyed creatures in old stories. People thought only giants could move the huge, rough stones used in masonry walls, so the phrase now means 'walls made of very large, irregular stones fitted together without mortar'.