Building technique of the Theater at ancient Messene

Abstract

AbstractThis paper reports and examines the building techniques of the recently excavated Messene Theater in Greece. In the Hellenistic period, both traditional building materials (poros and limestone) and methods (masonry, jointing, and transportation) were employed in the Messene Theater. The massive retaining wall of the auditorium and the skenotheke were built using limestone, but local poros stone was favored for use in the retaining wall of the parodos and other parts of the building. Traces of traditional joint and lifting techniques (dowels, clamps, lifting ropes, and lewis) have been observed. In the Roman imperial period, both Roman building materials (marble, granite, and brick) and local traditional masonry have been observed. The white and multi‐colored marble applied to the scaenae frons was most likely delivered from quarries from both local and other provinces. Remarkably, the mason marks on the stone blocks of the Roman imperial period suggest a systematic modification by previous building materials. Similarly, the vaulting of the Roman scene building seems to have been built using cut‐stone voussoirs instead of fired‐brick. The observed building techniques of the Messene Theater suggest a conservative tendency in provincial Roman Greece.