Abstract
The paper is dealing with the effort made by the ancient Greek architects to design marble beams (coffer slabs, ceiling beams) using different techniques (stiffening/hollowing), in order to meet the relevant requirements, namely structural integrity and lightness. Comparative studies of various beams of different periods prove the consistency of the design in the ancient world. Interpreting the results of the investigation in terms of bending capacity and using the maximum bending stress as design criterion, it can be shown that for stress values greater than approximately 1.70-1.90 MPa a suitable stiffening ridge was employed. In order to facilitate the transportation of heavy marbles in the mountainous region of Apollo Epicurios at Bassae, instead of stiffening the porch beams, the architect decided to hollow them out reducing the weight by 50%. It can be shown that these U-shaped beams were hollowed out to such a degree, that the maximum bending stress remains less than of that of the initial block.
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Papantonopoulos, C. (2006). Conservation Approaches, Applications, Case Studies. In: KOURKOULIS, S.K. (eds) Fracture and Failure of Natural Building Stones. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5077-0_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5077-0_16
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