Transept of Rouen cathedral (France, 1200s AD) Transepts were part of medieval Christian churches. Most churches were shaped like a cross, to remind people about Jesus' crucifixion, and the transept [...]
A thatched roof on a mud-brick house in West Africa When did people start to thatch roofs? Most houses in ancient Europe, Asia, and Africa had thatched roofs. People have [...]
A bit of plaster left on the wall of a Punic house from Carthage People used plaster to cover the bare stone or mudbrick on the walls of houses, both [...]
Nave of Abbaye aux Dames (Caen, 1050 AD) The nave is the long narrow part of a Roman basilica or a Christian church - the part where people sit in a [...]
Mud brick drying in the sun Most houses in ancient Africa, Europe, Asia, and many in the Americas, were built out of mud brick. You take clay from the riverbank [...]
History of houses: Sibudu Cave, South Africa, from the Stone Age Living in caves The first people lived without any kind of shelter, huddling under trees when it rained. They [...]
Flying buttress (Rouen Cathedral, 1200s AD) Gothic cathedrals In the 1100s AD, architects in northern France wanted to build big impressive Gothic cathedrals. They also wanted their cathedrals to be [...]
Looking into the side aisles of the Pisa Duomo (Italy, 1064 AD) What are double aisles? Some big basilicas and churches had two aisles instead of one: double aisles. The [...]
History of concrete: The fountain in the center of the courtyard is concrete (This is from the Palace of Domitian in Rome) What is concrete? Concrete is a kind of [...]
Buttress of St. Germain des Pres (Paris, 1100s AD) A buttress holds up a wall A buttress is a big pile of stone that keeps a building's walls from falling down. [...]
