Neolithic architecture began around 8,000 BCE and saw the rise of monumental structures like Jericho's stone walls and towers. Common architectural styles included post and lintel construction and corbeled vaults, where courses of stone were cantilevered inward. Megalithic sites like Newgrange in Ireland and Hagar Qim in Malta used huge stones and corbelled vaults. Stonehenge featured a circular setting of massive sarsen stones arranged in trilithons, with the sunrise aligned with structural features on solstices. It was built in multiple phases over centuries, possibly as an astronomical observatory or calendar.

1. PREHISTORIC WORLD
*for educational purposes only*

2.  Neolithic: the “new” Stone Age (8,000 – 2300 BCE),
which marked the beginnings of monumental (extremely
large) architecture
 corbeled vault: a vault formed by the piling of stone
blocks in horizontal courses, cantilevered inward until the
two walls meet in an arch
 post and lintel: one of the earliest methods of architectural
construction in which two posts (sometimes called
“uprights”) support a lintel (horizontal beam which rests
across the top)
*for educational purposes only*

3.  megalith: a large stone used in the construction of a prehistoric
structure
 Cromlech: a circle of megaliths, as at Stonehenge
*for educational purposes only*

4. *for educational purposes only*

5. Neolithic Jericho was protected by 5-foot-thick walls and at least one
stone tower 30 feet high and 33 feet in diameter. An outstanding
achievement that marks the beginning of monumental architecture.
Great stone tower built
into the settlement wall,
Jericho, ca. 8000-7000
BCE
*for educational purposes only*

6. Corbeled vault of the main
chamber in the passage
grave, Newgrange,
Ireland, ca. 3200-2500
BCE
The Newgrange passage
grave is an early example of
corbeled vaulting. The
huge stones (megaliths) of
the dome of the main burial
chamber beneath the tumulus
are held in place by their own
weight. *for educational purposes only*

7. *for educational purposes only*

8. Aerial view of ruins of Hagar Qim, Malta, ca. 3200- 2500
BCE
One of the earliest stone temples in the world is on the island
of Malta. The 5,000-year-old structure is remarkably
sophisticated for its date, especially in the combination of
rectilinear and curved forms.*for educational purposes only*

9. Stonehenge
(3100-2000 BC)
Wiltshire,
England
*for educational purposes only*

10. *for educational purposes only*

11. Aerial view (looking northwest) of Stonehenge, Salisbury
Plain, England, ca. 2550-1600 BCE. Circle is 97’ in diameter;
trilithons 24’ high.
The circles of trilithons at Stonehenge probably functioned as an
astronomical observatory and solar calendar. The sun rises over
its “heel stone” at the summer solstice. Some of the megaliths
weigh 50 tons. *for educational purposes only*

12.  Neolithic architecture
 Post and lintel construction
 Megaliths are 21 to 24 feet tall, including height of lintel, and
buried four feet in the ground
 Solar and lunar orientation
 Stones dragged from far away to this site
 Circle of megaliths embrace structure, enclosing it
*for educational purposes only*

13.  Inside circle of megaliths is a larger horseshoe-shaped group of
megaliths which frame an “Altar Stone”
 Horseshoe-shaped stones face midsummer sunrise over “Heel
Stone”
 “Altar Stone” is a green sandstone taken from a mine in Wales,
over 200 miles away
 Heaviest stones 50 tons apiece, hauled by sledges (sleds)
 Tools for building: ropes, levers, rollers, axes
 Built in several phases over hundreds of years on a sacred site
on Salisbury Plain
*for educational purposes only*

14. *for educational purposes only*

15. Several
Phases
(stages) of
Construction
*for educational purposes only*

16. Plan of Stonehenge in
2004. Trilithon lintels
omitted for clarity.
Holes that no longer, or
never, contained stones
are shown as open
circles. Stones visible
today are shown
coloured.*for educational purposes only*

17. The lintels (horizontal monoliths) were fitted to one another using a
woodworking method, the “tongue-and-groove joint”
*for educational purposes only*

18. *for educational purposes only*

19.  Each stone had clearly been worked with the
final visual effect in mind; the pillars widen
slightly towards the top, in order that their
perspective remains constant when viewed
from the ground. The lintel stones curve
slightly to continue the circular appearance of
the earlier monument. The inward-facing
surfaces of the stones are smoother and more
finely worked than the outer surfaces.
*for educational purposes only*

20. Stonehenge
Sarsen
stones
trilithons
bluestones
Lintels
Open end
Facing East
*for educational purposes only*

21.  were probably prototypes of the Pyramids in
Egypt and of the beehive huts in Wales,
Cornwall, Scotland , and Ireland
*for educational purposes only*

22. BEEHIVE HUT*for educational purposes only*

23.  Consisted of wooden huts built on piles in the
water for protection against attack
*for educational purposes only*

24. *for educational purposes only*

25. *for educational purposes only*