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The evolution of stone masonry -

Stone masonry effectively evolved during the Neolithic Period, or New Stone Age, about 12,000 years ago, when humans began arranging rocks to make shelters.

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New Stone Age -

Stonemasons then began honing their craft to create dolmens, types of single-chamber megalithic tombs.

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Göbekli Tepe -

Dazzling early examples of the stonemason's art were unearthed at Göbekli Tepe, a Neolithic archaeological site in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey inhabited from around 9500 BCE to at least 8000 BCE.

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Göbekli Tepe -

Besides the massive stone pillars found there (among the world's oldest-known megaliths), Göbekli Tepe revealed a wealth of anthropomorphic decoration and sculptural reliefs of wild animals.

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Late Neolithic Period -

By the Late Neolithic Period, around 3000 BCE, dolmens, too, were far more elaborate in their design, though most lacked any intricate carving. One of the best-known sites is located at Antequera in Spain.

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Stonehenge -

Stonehenge was built in several stages, from roughly 3100 BCE until about 1600 BCE. Neolithic builders toiled for centuries dragging huge blocks of sarsen stone some 25 miles (40 km) from hills in southwestern Wales and then pounded them with mauls until they were the shapes required, with tenons or mortice holes so they could be joined securely.

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Giza pyramid complex -

Antiquity saw some of the greatest examples of the stonemason's art. The Giza pyramid complex in Egypt took shape under the direction of a small army of stonemasons who cut stone bricks and large blocks from quarries in order for them to be transported to construction sites. Sculptors then carved the larger stones into statues, often applying relief art on them. The Great Sphinx of Giza is an endearing example of this technique.

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Persepolis -

The awe-inspiring architectural complex that is Persepolis in Iran features an extraordinary ensemble of colossal sculptures and intricate stone reliefs of ancient Persian kings, nobles, and deities. Dating back to the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BCE), the stonemasons employed to decorate the empire's ceremonial capital used tools from hard bronze and iron, hewing the stone with pointed chisels and graining irons.

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Temple of Hephaestus -

The next chapter in the history of masonry construction begins with the ancient Greeks. The Greeks used sandstone to build marvels like the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens. But it was in the use of marble where the stonemasons of this epoch truly excelled. Some of the most beautiful and elegant marble columns and statues of the ancient world were created by Greek stonemasons.

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Pont du Gard -

The Pont du Gard is one of the best-preserved Roman aqueduct bridges and a stunning example of civil engineering prowess and the stonemason's skill. Located in Vers-Pont-du-Gard in southern France, the bridge has three arches built from shelly limestone and was completed around 60 CE.

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Great Mosque of Córdoba -

The Great Mosque of Córdoba is a high point of the architecture of al-Andalus and one of the most important monuments of early Islamic architecture. Inside, the mosque's horseshoe arch, tapered stone of alternating colors, and rectangular alfiz frame, became one of the most recurring motifs of Islamic architecture in the region. The mosque was converted to a cathedral in 1236 during the Christian Reconquista.

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Hagia Sophia -

Nowhere is Byzantine masonry better exemplified than Hagia Sophia. The building was completed in 537 CE originally as a church; the minarets were added in the 15th–16th centuries when it became a mosque. After the decline of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire was seen as the new center for artistic and architectural design. Byzantine architects and the stonemasons that worked with them were largely responsible for incorporating domes and geometrical designs into their work.

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Borobudur -

Borobudur, a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Java, Indonesia, was constructed using around 1.6 million blocks of volcanic rock (gray andesite-like stone) with no mortar. The structure is like a set of massive interlocking Lego blocks and showcases one of the world's most extensive collections of Buddhist reliefs.

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Angkor Wat -

Angkor Wat is a Hindu-Buddhist temple complex located in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It's renowned for a series of carved bas-reliefs of extraordinary detail featuring Hindu narratives and Buddhist kings that date back to the temple's founding in 1150.

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Notre-Dame Cathedral -

The Middle Ages witnessed the appearance of more complex and imposing castles, cathedrals, and churches across Europe. The period known as the Gothic era was characterized by architecture stylized by its pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses. Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, consecrated in 1182, is a superb example of French Gothic architecture.

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Cologne Cathedral -

Cologne Cathedral in Germany is a High Gothic five-aisled basilica. The stonemasons and craftsmen assigned to build this masterpiece of medieval masonry likely had no idea it would take more than 600 years to complete.

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Chartres Cathedral -

One of the most beautiful and historically significant cathedrals in all of Europe, Chartres in France is the work of a horde of anonymous builders, masons, stone cutters, carpenters and sculptors. The masons, over 300 of them, were tasked with solving complex problems of engineering and design, not least how to raise two-ton blocks of stones 130 feet (40 m) into the air. The cathedral is noted for the masons' marks—the inscribed signature symbols of masons on a building's stones—found throughout the exterior and interior of the building.

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Reims Cathedral -

The astonishing west facade of Reims Cathedral in France includes the inscriptions of four master stonemasons: Jean d'Orbais, Jean le Loup, Gaucher de Reims, and Bernard de Soissons. These individuals were among the finest in their field working in medieval Europe, with Reims Cathedral considered another masterpiece of 13th-century Gothic architecture.

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Canterbury Cathedral -

Arguably England's greatest and certainly most famous stonemason, Henry Yevele worked on Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle, and Canterbury Cathedral (pictured), plus numerous castles during the 14th century.

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Jerónimos Monastery -

The stunningly beautiful Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, Portugal, was built to commemorate Vasco da Gama's historic voyage to India in 1498. It's a marvel of the late Portuguese Gothic Manueline style of architecture. The technique, named after King Manuel I, is characterized by decorative tracery and ornamentation, and a wealth of filigree Manueline motives with nautical elements. The cloister is highly symbolic of the Manueline style.

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Tower of London -

Founded by William the Conqueror, who built a mighty stone tower at the center of his London fortress in the 1070s, the architecture of the Tower of London is a fascinating combination of Roman, medieval, Tudor, Victorian, and modern buildings. In 1532, Thomas Cromwell spent a small fortune on repairs and imported nearly 3,000 tons of Caen stone for the work, much of it hand carved and including marble elements.

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Easter Island moai -

The monolithic human figures or moai carved from volcanic tuff (solidified ash) by the Rapa Nui people on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in eastern Polynesia stand as testament to a remarkable creative and physical feat undertaken by the island's stonemasons who created some 900 of these sculptures between 1100 and 1650.

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Inca walls of Cusco -

The 1,000 year-old Inca walls that are scattered throughout the city of Cusco in Peru are structures so strong and masterfully crafted that they have endured for centuries. Bereft of the many tools the Romans and ancient Egyptians had at their disposal, Inca stonemasons still managed to build walls with remarkable precision, a feat of engineering any stonemason today would be proud of.

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Machu Picchu -

Another incredible example of Inca workmanship is Machu Picchu. As with the walls at Cusco, they utilized a technique known as ashlar, which saw stones cut in such a way that mortar was not necessary. The Inca used stone, bronze, or copper tools, usually splitting the stones along natural fracture lines in such a precise fashion that a blade of grass could not be placed between the stones!

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Great Wall of China -

One of the more remarkable structures on Earth, and visible from space such is its length and scale, the Great Wall of China actually consists of numerous walls—many of them parallel to each other—built over some two millennia across northern China and southern Mongolia. Tamped earth and rammed earth were early materials used in its construction. Later, bricks laid using mortar made from a mixture of lime, sand, and water were used. Dry stone masonry techniques were also employed. The best-known sections of the wall were built by the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).

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Castillo de San Marcos -

The oldest masonry fort in the continental United States is Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, Florida. Built between 1672 and 1695, it's made of a stone called coquina (Spanish for "small shells"), which consists of ancient shells that have bonded together to form a sedimentary rock similar to limestone.

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Palazzo Medici Riccardi -

The Renaissance saw stonemasonry return to the prominence and sophistication of the Classical age, with master craftsmen expressing a renewed interest in Greek and Roman techniques and styling. Beautiful works of masonry were produced during this period, with one key feature being the use of rustication, which was the intentional roughening of the exterior stonework. A prime example of this kind of masonry is Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence. The exquisite facade exudes the cultural and intellectual ideals prevalent during this period.

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Taj Mahal -

Commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, the Taj Mahal is considered to be the greatest architectural achievement in the whole range of Indo-Islamic architecture. The building material worked by the masons is brick-in-lime mortar veneered with red sandstone and marble and inlay work of precious and semi precious stones. The most notable interior feature is the exquisite octagonal marble lattice screen encircling both cenotaphs, a piece of superb workmanship.

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Brooklyn Bridge -

Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York required around 200,000 tons of limestone and granite stacked from the river-bed to the tower's highest points, 278 feet (84 m) above the East River. Building work began in 1869 and took 14 years to complete. The iconic bridge is still considered one the most complicated engineering feats in modern history.

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Washington Monument -

At 555 feet (169 m), the Washington Monument is the tallest freestanding masonry structure in the world, and the tallest obelisk. It was completed in 1884 and is topped with solid aluminum—a rare building material at the time of its construction.

Sources: (Masonry Magazine) (History) (UNESCO) 

See also: History's most famous architects

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