Drafted masonry, in
architecture, is the term given to large stones, the face of which has been dressed round the edge in a draft or sunken surface, leaving the centre portion as it came from the
quarry. The dressing is worked with an
adze of eight teeth to the inch, used in a vertical direction and to a width of two to four inches.
The earliest example of drafted masonry is found in the immense platform built by
Cyrus
Cyrus (Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus t ...
in 530 BC at
Pasargadae
Pasargadae (from Old Persian ''Pāθra-gadā'', "protective club" or "strong club"; Modern Persian: ''Pāsārgād'') was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), who ordered its construction and the location of ...
in
Persia. It occurs again in the palace of
Hyrcanus, known as the ''
Arak-el-Emir''
[ Iraq al Amir, Jordan; see Qasr al Abd.] (176 BC), but is there inferior in execution.
The finest drafted masonry is that dating from the time of
Herod the Great, in the tower of
David and the walls of the ''Haram'' in
Jerusalem, and at
Hebron. In the castles built by the
Crusaders, the
adze has been worked in a diagonal direction instead of vertically. In all these examples the size of the stones employed is sometimes enormous, so that the traditional influence of the
Phoenician
stonemason
Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...
s seems to have lasted till the twelfth century.
References
{{EB1911 article with no significant updates
Masonry