A joggle is a joint or projection that interlocks blocks (such as a lintel's stone blocks or an arch's

voussoir A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...

s). Often joggles are semicircular and knob-shaped, so joggled stones have a jigsaw- or zigzag-like pattern. Joggling can be found in pre-Frankish buildings, in

Roman Spain Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...

and Roman France. In

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ...

, the earliest joggles were in the

desert castles The Umayyad desert castles, of which the desert castles of Jordan represent a prominent part, are fortified palaces or castles in what was the then Umayyad province of Bilad al-Sham. Most Umayyad "desert castles" are scattered over the semi-arid ...

of the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...

, such as

Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi ( ar, قصر الحير الشرقي, lit=Eastern al-Hayr Palace or the "Eastern Castle") is a castle (''qasr'') in the middle of the Syrian Desert. It was built by the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik in 728-29 CE ...

. In

Mamluk architecture Mamluk architecture was the architectural style under the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517), which ruled over Egypt, the Levant, and the Hijaz from their capital, Cairo. Despite their often tumultuous internal politics, the Mamluk sultans were proli ...

, joggling is usually combined with

ablaq Ablaq ( ar, أبلق; particolored; literally 'piebald') is an architectural technique involving alternating or fluctuating rows of light and dark stone. Records trace the beginnings of this type of masonry technique to the southern parts of S ...

(alternating colors). Joggling also characterize

Ottoman architecture Ottoman architecture is the architectural style that developed under the Ottoman Empire. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia in the late 13th century and developed from earlier Seljuk Turkish architecture, with influences from Byzantine a ...

in Cairo. The protruding joggle is also called a "he-joggle", whereas the corresponding slot is called a "she-joggle".

References

Joinery Masonry Arabic architecture Islamic architectural elements Mamluk architecture Ottoman architecture Architecture in Egypt Architecture in Syria Architecture in the State of Palestine {{architecturalelement-stub

See also

References