Stonemasonry

A French stonemason using a straightedge and chisels

Stonemasonry is the craft of making things out of stone. People who do this are called stonemasons. Their crafts have existed since the start of civilization. They have made important buildings and structures out of stone. This stone comes from the earth. Stone has been used to build many long-lasting things. These could be monuments, artifacts, cathedrals and cities. These can often be seen in many cultures. Some monuments made out of stone include, the Egyptian pyramids and the Greek Parthenon. Stonehenge is also a famous stone building.

Stonemasonry Media

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  A 15-storey apartment building in La Tourette (Marseille), designed by Fernand Pouillon. Constructed using the massive precut stone method.

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  Gobekli Tepe, early monumental Neolithic stonemasonry using flint-carved limestone columns (~9500 BCE).

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  12th-century stonemasonry at Angkor Wat

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  Diamond-wire saw in use for quarrying marble.

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  Stonemason working with medieval tools.

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  Stonemasonry with andesite, Borobudur, Indonesia.

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  Splitting a block of marble with plug and feathers

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  A stonemason at Eglinton Tournament Bridge with a selection of tools of the trade

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  Precisely interfaced blocks at Sacsayhuamán citadel in Cusco, Peru

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  15 Clerkenwell Close in London uses a trabeated exoskeleton.