Early Architecture
Skara Brae (3200 - 2200 BC), Orkney, Scotland. This Neolithic village lies on the shores of Bay o Skaill on the western coast of the Orkney mainland. It is comprised of eight dwellings that are linked together with a series of low alleyways. Each of the houses has the same basic design, which is a large square room with a fireplace, a bed on each side and a shelved dresser on the wall that is opposite the doorway. It is believed that sand dunes finally led the village to be evacuated but it had been inhabited by about seven generations before this time. It was discovered forty centuries later in the mid-1800s by another storm. The people had only stone available for building, thus, there is a large assortment of stone furniture ranging from beds to limpet tanks. Stonehenge (3000 - 1500 BC), England. There are any number of legends surrounding the question of who built this henge and why but the best guess seems to be that Stonehenge was begun by people of the late Neolithic period, about 3000 BC and then carried on by people over time. It is believed that the inner stone circle was build in about 2000 BC but abandoned before it was completed. The bluestones used are from the Prescelly Mountains, about 240
miles from the site. The bluestones weigh about 4 tons each and about 80 stones were used. The giant sarsen stones that form the outer circle weigh as much as 50 tons each and had to be transported 20 miles. These larger stones were then prepared to accommodate stone lintels along the top surface of the ring. It is estimated that Stonehenge was finally completed about 1500 BC. The Stonehenge that is left is the ruins of the original construction. Old St. Peter's Basilica (319 - 326 AD), Rome. The Old St. Peter's was built on the west side of the Tiber River over the spot that was believed to be the grave of St. Peter. It was built in the form of a basilica, a court building that had a semi-circular apse at each end where court cases were heard, a large central area and side aisles. Most early Christian churches adopted this style. Old St. Peter's was an enormously expensive project but Constantine saw himself as both the Roman Emperor and the Champion of Christianity. He spend Imperial funds to build this basilica. It had a narrow central aisle that was 300 feet long and four side aisles. A grand canopy on four curving columns was placed over St. Peter's tomb. The exterior was plain but the interior was covered with fresco paintings and mosaics. There were also large marble columns, massive chandeliers and ornaments made of silver, gold and many jewels. en covered with sheets of lead were used in the garden. The Pantheon (118-128), now called S. Maria della Rotonda,
Some common words found in the essay are:
King Nebuchadnezzar, Hadrian Pantheon, Bay Skaill, Prescelly Mountains, Ur-Nammu Constructed, St Peter's, BC England, Avenue Sphinxes, Champion Christianity, St Peter, st peter's, 300 feet, 1500 bc, baked brick, 605 bc,
Approximate Word count = 999
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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