The Boston Museum of Fine Arts released a series on Egyptian mastaba tombs. They are intriguing both because they are more plentiful than pyramids, and because we may be able to safely assume that the same basic concepts of design and the use of numbers in architecture used in the pyramids may have been usedContinue reading “The Tomb of Queen Meresankh at Giza”
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First Impressions of Nakum, Guatemala
I have a fascination with the architecture of Nakum. It’s not that far from Tikal, and the architectural influence of Tikal might be seen even by the casual observer. One hopes that Tikal also influenced Nakum mathematically in the choice of architectural proportions, and that the architecture of Nakum may therefore have great things toContinue reading “First Impressions of Nakum, Guatemala”
More on Ancient Greek Architecture
I have a habit of attempting the same work more than once. I think it’s not only interesting but important to see if things work out the same way twice, especially in light of what is hopefully growing awareness of the way that astronomical or calendar data was incorporated into ancient architecture. The more weContinue reading “More on Ancient Greek Architecture”
The Temple of Olympian Zeus
Here is another look at another of Athanasios Angelopoulos’ subjects, the Temple of Olympian Zeus. http://athang1504.blogspot.com/2011/01/temple-of-olympian-zeus.html Even if I can come up with a different interpretation to offer, Angelopolous’ interpretation is interesting and may highlight some meaningful parts. I think I would have to agree here that the architect may have had a certain fondnessContinue reading “The Temple of Olympian Zeus”
The Telesterion
It would seem odd that I can’t remember which were it not for the sheer number of structures I’ve looked at in the past year, but once before – ONCE – I found myself looking at ancient architecture and wondering if the numbers I work with are really enough to describe them. I could alsoContinue reading “The Telesterion”
The Kallichoron Frear
Returning to the subject of Athanasio Angelopoulos’ work once again, there are some things that catch my eye. I have a certain attraction to circular architecture, because I find it rewarding to discover how often and how well the proportions of ancient circular architecture seem to be integrated with the basic mathematics of circles. OftenContinue reading “The Kallichoron Frear”
On A Megalithic Cubit
Athanasios Angelopoulos’ Metron Ariston blog features a much-welcome wealth of data on ancient Greek architecture. http://athang1504.blogspot.com/2012/ I’ve attempted working with the data before and found a great deal that seemed familiar, although because this was prior to some of the latest revisions to my view of metrology, some of my first impressions are probably dueContinue reading “On A Megalithic Cubit”
More Notes on Mayan Arches…
…Or “portal vaults” as they are known in George Andrews’ texts. A number of them are referred to therein although the data can be sparse. In the past I’ve mentioned that it seems easy enough to find approximations of Phi in them (the Labna arch being a particularly good example), but not necessarily explored themContinue reading “More Notes on Mayan Arches…”
The Labna Arch
The Labna Arch George Andrews gives us a little bit of data on this structure in Architectural Survey Puuc Archaeological Region 1984 Field Season Volume 4 (Revised Edition 1990) (page 79) https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/14070 PORTAL VAULT:Length: 3.63 m.Width: 3.03 m.Height: 2.66 m. floor to springline, 2.03 m. springline to bottom of capstone molding.Stonework: Vault faced with 8Continue reading “The Labna Arch”
Labna: First Steps Into The Palace
Labna, in the Yucatan peninsula, is known for some rather striking Mayan architecture. For some reason, as striking as it is, I somehow feel much less attracted to the architecture of places like Labna and Uxmal – I suppose there is something of a formal feel about them? – than that of other places, althoughContinue reading “Labna: First Steps Into The Palace”
Luke Piwalker 