© Fabricio Guzmán

关于干石建筑的简要历史
Pre-Dating Writing and the Wheel: A Brief History of Dry Stone Construction

由专筑网李韧，吴静雅编译

在世界各地都能够看到这些堆叠而成的干石建筑，此类建筑依靠传统的工艺技术，形成坚固的结构系统，并以其质朴，互锁的形状为特征，，这项技术似乎有着悠久的历史。其实，其建造原理非常简单，即将石头堆叠而成，形成统一形态的承重墙体，其高效、耐久的特质和技术特征，让这种策略在如今的建筑中仍然得以流传与使用。

至少在公元前10世纪，车轮、陶器、冶金和书写技术、干石等策略就已经作为结构概念而存在，尤其是在欧洲的西北部地区，那些历史墙体甚至可以追溯到公元前7000至1600年之间，同时在欧洲南部，此类的案例可以追溯到公元前1350年青铜时代的人类居所。而在拉丁美洲和非洲，干石作品的发展较晚一些，大致时间在公元800年。殖民美洲和澳大拉西亚的北欧国家则也发展了此类建筑的历史传统。

有时乍一看，你会认为干石是简单快速的建造策略，但是如果你一旦着手体验，你就会面临这样的一个问题，即这些石头该如何屹立不倒？

A collection of stones piled one on top of the other, dry stone is an iconic building method found just about anywhere across the world. Relying solely on an age-old craft to create sturdy, reliable structures and characterised by its rustic, interlocking shapes, the technique has deep routes that stretch back to ancient times. Its principles are simple: stack the stones in a certain way, as to create a unified, load-bearing wall. But the efficient, long-lasting results—coupled with the technique’s cultural significance—have lead to continued use and interpretation throughout today’s architecture.
Pre-dating the wheel, pottery, metallurgy and writing, dry stone as a structural concept has been around since at least the 10th millennium BC. Prominent in north-west Europe, the historic walls that are left are normally dated between 7000-1600BC, whereas in Southern Europe early examples are traced back to the first Bronze Age settlements - around 1350BC. Latin America and Africa’s dry stone heritage is slightly more recent, dating back to roughly 800AD. And as the Northern European nations colonised the Americas and Australasia they brought with them the storied tradition.
Although on first glance you may dismiss dry stone as a simple, quick building solution, once you attempt to build something similar you are left with a deep, burning question: how do you make it stand up?


© Museu Valencià d'Etnologia licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

这种技术的主要内容便是将这些石头固定在一起，让它们不随意滚动，从而在重力的作用下形成大型石墙。但是，要做好这一点需要诸多技巧，许多工匠们需要花费几年的时间才能完善作品。这就类似于标准化Flemish砖块砌筑的方式那样，其顶部的石头是整个结构成败的关键因素，这个结构的底部会略宽一些，一般选择运用体量较大的石头作为基础，然后整体底座会置放在有着浅沟的地基上，从而将上部荷载传递至地面。在其中，模板常常用于保持层次之间的连贯性，通常来说，石墙的上部宽度会逐渐变窄，在一些复杂的项目中，这种结构模型同样得以安全运用。

The core idea is to interlock the stones in such a way that they cease to act independently; creating the effect of one large stone acting under gravity. Achieving this takes a lot of skill, with many dry stone wallers investing years to perfect their craft. Covering each joint with a stone on top—similar to a standard Flemish brick bond—is key, while the bottom is always wider and contains larger stones to provide support. This secure base sits upon the subsoil in a shallow channel, transferring the weight directly into the compact earth below. Templates are often used to maintain a consistent layering and batter (the gradual thinning towards the walls top), and in more complex projects molds can be utilised to ensure a secure, safe structure.


© TR001 licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

这种干石结构在某些地区非常流行，而这也与当地的石头产量有关。在一些炎热或者寒冷地区，这种结构同样适用，因为石材会比篱笆或是木制栅栏更加具有稳定性。

那么这种发现与建造之间的直接关联便形成了地区特有的干石美学，这种施工技术十分考验工人的技术，同时展示了浓郁的历史和环境场所意义。

Popular in specific areas, its surge to prominence is usually dependant on an abundance of rocky outcrops, alongside a high proportion of large stones readily found in the topsoil. Harsh conditions—whether too hot or too bleak—also encourage the use of dry stone, where the context calls for a more steadfast solution than hedges or wooden fencing.
This direct relationship between what is found and what is built creates regionally specific dry stone aesthetics. The construction technique is extremely emotive as a result, showcasing an intense sense of historic and environmental place.


© RobertSimons licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

在不列颠群岛，干石墙体常常用于农业、牧业和墓地的土地边界之中，此时的墙体为横向排布的灰色锯齿状形态。英国长达125000英里（约201168千米）的干石墙大部分建造于19世纪早期，这也是对当时圈地运动的呼应。墙体由垂直轻薄的石头包裹。其他类型的建筑也同样运用了这种施工方式，尤其是在苏格兰的某些地区，那里有着空心的圆形建筑，但这些建筑颇具争议。地区的遗产保护团队则会将这种手工艺技术视为当地的重要文化组成部分。

In the British Isles, where dry stone walling is common for denoting land boundaries for farmers, herders and churchyards alike, the walls are jagged, lateral and grey. Most of Britain’s 125,000 miles worth of dry stone wall were built in the early 1800s, a response to the Enclosure Acts. They are often capped with a run of vertical, thinner stone. Other building types used the construction method, too—in particular the mysterious brochs of Scotland, hollow round structures with an unknown, much-debated function. Regional heritage groups ensure the craft remains an essential part of the vernacular.


© Anne Burgess licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

在迈锡尼和梯林斯古城的希腊人也同样运用干石作为主要承重结构。因为当地有许多圆形石头，因此形成了一种与北欧建筑完全不同的美学理念。

The Greeks, in their ancient cities of Mycenae and Tiryns, used dry stone as the primary load-bearing structure. Due to the rounded stones available in the area, a cyclopean aesthetic was created, differing to its Northern European counterparts.


© David Monniaux licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

印加人通过建造双叶墙来抵御地震的威胁，同时他们也在居住区运用干石墙体，典型的案例便是马丘比丘。他们技术精致而细腻，每块石头都经过认真的雕刻，石头与石头之间的间隙非常小，因此形成了完美拼接的立面效果。另外，他们同样适用干石挡土墙，从而将秘鲁的山地景观改造为耕地。

Building double leaf walls to compensate for the chance of earthquakes, the Incans used dry stone walling in their settlements, as seen in the famous Machu Pichu. Their technique is carefully decorative,each stone being perfectly chipped to assure as little gap as possible, which leaves a jigsaw-like facade. More prolifically, however, was their use of dry stone retaining walls, used to help flatten the mountainous landscape of Peru into usable, farmable land.


© Alexander Fiebrandt licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

在津巴布韦，山地东南部的历史场所表现出对干燥石头的极其熟练的使用。津巴布韦的石头建筑面积约为7.3平方公里，而这些建筑的历史甚至能够追溯到公元11世纪。南非最重要的古代法院之一Great Enclosure的圆形墙体和锥形塔楼的魅力至今存在。

In Zimbabwe, a key historic settlement in the south-eastern hills showed an extremely skilled use of dry stone. Spanning an area of 7.3 square kilometres, the stone structures of Great Zimbabwe date as far back as the 11th Century AD. Their prowess remains today in the circular walls and conical towers of the Great Enclosure, one of Southern Africa’s most significant ancient courts.


© Jan Derk

除了用作文化作品和现有建筑的一般维护作用，干石在现代项目中应用并不广泛。景观项目中，常常将干石用作退台梯田，而一些具有装饰技术的母题图腾都有着一定的地方精神。

然而，仍然有一些项目呼应了精致且有意义的设计原则。例如Peter Rich Architects事务所设计的Mapungubwe表演中心便运用了干石墙体来表达当地的材料和工艺，从而该项目也与项目背景紧密相连。

Modern examples of dry stone walling, other than as a cultural practice and general maintenance of existing feature, are hard to come by. Landscape architecture skilfully uses dry stone for terracing, where nowadays more manufactured, decorative motifs are found, lacking the original, organic sense of place.
However, there are still some examples where the principles are applied to delicate, sense driven projects. The Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre by Peter Rich Architects also uses dry stone walls (which have historical relevance in the area) in a showcase of local material and craft, creating a project deeply ingrained within its context.


© Iwan Baan

在今年的威尼斯双年展中，Eduardo Souto de Moura的展馆则运用了干石，形成了下沉式居住空间，在其中，设计师展示了石头的肌理和触感。

Eduardo Souto de Moura’s pavilion at this years Venice Biennale uses dry stone to create a sunken sanctuary space, where the scars and tactility of the stone are exhibited and celebrated.


© Laurian Ghinitoiu

另外，赫尔佐格和德穆龙设计的泰特美术馆Switch House便有着无砂浆砖石立面，从而形成只需要支撑自重的自由结构体系。虽然就技术而言，这与干石无关，但建筑仍然保留其本质，表达了这种技术仍然在现代建筑中占据有一席之地。当你看到这座建筑时，不同的空间视角为你呈现的古老却又自由的墙体常常会让你向内心发问，这些结构如何屹立不倒呢？

An alternative manner of utilising the concept, the Tate Modern Switch House by Herzog + de Meuron has a mortarless brick facade that creates the effect of a free-standing structure supported under its own weight. While not technically dry stone, it maintains its essence, showing how the technique has a place in the future of modern architecture. The mesmerising close ups seen throughout the building leave you with the same head-scratching notion of when you see the ancient, seemingly loose walls: just how do you make it stand up?
        

© Iwan Baan