THE ANTIQUITY OF CONCRETE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1094, 10 September 1912, Page 4

THE ANTIQUITY OF CONCRETE.

Investigations recently undertaken in Central America by the German explorer and archaeologist, Theobert Maler, and by Dr Alfred M. Tozzer, have brought to light several interesting facts in regard to the ancient Mayan cities of Copan, £)uinga, Palenque, Yaxchilau and Tikal. The last named is the largest and the latest to be explored, and a systematic study ol its architecture has revealed the fact that concrete entered very largely in the building operations of the Mayans, whose civilisation flickered out five hundred years ago. Tikal was built about 1800 years ago, yet its temples and palaces contain examples of concrete construction as complex and ingenious as any that have been devised by the engineers and builders of the present generation. The problem which possesses absorbing interest for the archaeologist is: where did the Mayans learn their building methods ? There is nothing in the scheme of building which shows the progress of growth from beginning to perfection. The art of construction appears to have come into being fully formed. The Mayans built some huge edifices. The temple ot Tikal stands on a pyramid of rubble and concrete 120 feet high and 240 feet square at the base. The temple itself, with its “roof comb,” runs up some 90 feet higher, forming a monument 210 leet in height. The great roof comb, which is ol enormous weight, was added, it is believed, purely as an ornament. The necessity for supporting the great mass by massive walls has restricted the actual interior size of the temple to very small dimensions. The palaces, built without roof combs, had larger rooms, and these buildings consisted sometimes of five or six storeys. It is considered probable that outside wooden stairs were used, as no traces of interior staircases have been discovered. The history of the Mayans is told in thousands of hieroglyphics on the walls of the temples and other buildings, but a key to the Mayan writing has not yet been discovered.