This is a list of ancient monoliths found in all types of Greek and Roman buildings.
It contains monoliths
Transporting was done by land or water (or a combination of both), in the later case often by special-built ships such as obelisk carriers. For lifting operations, ancient cranes were employed since ca. 515 BC, such as in the construction of Trajan's Column.
It should be stressed that all numbers are estimations since only in the rarest cases have monoliths been actually weighed. Rather, weight is calculated by multiplying volume by density. The main source, J. J. Coulton, assumes 2.75 t/m3 for marble and 2.25 t/m3 for other stone. For an explanation of the large margin of error, which often leads to widely differing numbers, see these introductory remarks.
Below a selection of Greek monoliths sorted by their date.
| Date | Building / Object | Location | Monolith | Weight (in t) | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ~650 BC | Dedication of Nikandre | Delos, Greek isles | Figure | ||||
| ~650 BC | Fortification wall | Leontinoi, Sicily | Wall blocks | ||||
| ~640 BC | Temple of Poseidon | Isthmus, Greek mainland | Wall blocks | ||||
| ~630 BC | Temple A | Prinias, Crete | Frieze slab | ||||
| 610–590 BC | Sounion Kouros | Sounion, Greek mainland | Figure | ||||
| 610–590 BC | Colossus of the Naxians | Delos, Greek isles | Base | ||||
| 610–590 BC | Colossus of the Naxians | Delos, Greek isles | Figure | ||||
| 590–580 BC | Temple of Artemis | Kerkyra, Greek isles | Pediment slab, central | ||||
| 590–580 BC | Temple of Artemis | Kerkyra, Greek isles | Architrave block | or 6.25 | |||
| ~565 BC | Temple of Apollo | Syracuse, Sicily | Stylobate block | ||||
| ~565 BC | Temple of Apollo | Syracuse, Sicily | |||||
| ~565 BC | Temple of Apollo | Syracuse, Sicily | Architrave block | ||||
| ~555 BC | Olympieion | Syracuse, Sicily | Stylobate block | ||||
| 560–550 BC | Temple of Artemis | Ephesos, Asia Minor | Architrave block, central | ||||
| 550–530 BC | Temple C | Selinunte, Sicily | Stylobate block | ||||
| 550–530 BC | Temple C | Selinunte, Sicily | Architrave block | ||||
| ~540 BC | Temple of Apollo | Corinth, Greek mainland | |||||
| ~540 BC | Temple of Apollo | Corinth, Greek mainland | |||||
| ~535 BC | Temple D | Selinunte, Sicily | |||||
| ~525 BC | Temple FS | Selinunte, Sicily | Architrave block | ||||
| ~520 BC | Kouros of Apollonas | Naxos, Greek isles | Figure | ||||
| ~520 BC | Temple of Apollo | Naxos, Greek isles | Lintel block | ||||
| ~520 BC | Temple of Apollo | Naxos, Greek isles | Threshold | ||||
| ~520 BC | Temple at Parikia | Paros, Greek isles | |||||
| ~520–409 BC | Temple of Apollo ('GT') | Selinunte, Sicily | Column drum in quarry (Cave di Cusa) | ||||
| ~520–409 BC | Temple of Apollo ('GT') | Selinunte, Sicily | Architrave block | ||||
| ~520–409 BC | Temple of Apollo ('GT') | Selinunte, Sicily | |||||
| ~515 BC | From about that time on, cranes are assumed to have become common on Greek construction sites, leading to a sharp reduction of block sizes. | ||||||
| ~515 BC | Olympieion | Athens, Greek mainland | |||||
| ~500–406 BC | Olympieion | Akragas, Sicily | Abacus block, central | ||||
| ~500–406 BC | Olympieion | Akragas, Sicily | Architrave block | ||||
| ~500–406 BC | Olympieion | Akragas, Sicily | Architrave block | ||||
| ~500–406 BC | Olympieion | Akragas, Sicily | Architrave block | ||||
| ~500–406 BC | Olympieion | Akragas, Sicily | Metope block, lower (angle) | ||||
| ~500–406 BC | Olympieion | Akragas, Sicily | Cornice block | ||||
| ~500 BC | Temple of Aphaia | Aigina, Greek isles | Column shaft | ||||
| 480–460 BC | Temple ER | Selinunte, Sicily | |||||
| 468–457 BC | Temple of Zeus | Olympia, Greek mainland | Stylobate block | ||||
| 468–457 BC | Temple of Zeus | Olympia, Greek mainland | Architrave block | ||||
| ~460 BC | Temple of 'Poseidon' | Paestum, Magna Graecia | Architrave block | ||||
| 448–437 BC | Parthenon | Athens, Greek mainland | Architrave block | ||||
| 448–437 BC | Parthenon | Athens, Greek mainland | Lintel block, largest | ||||
| 437–432 BC | Propylaia | Athens, Greek mainland | Architrave block, central | ||||
| 437–432 BC | Propylaia | Athens, Greek mainland | Lintel block, largest | ||||
| 437–432 BC | Propylaia | Athens, Greek mainland | Lintel block, relieving [1] | ||||
| 437–432 BC | Propylaia | Athens, Greek mainland | Ceiling beam, west porch | ||||
| 421–405 BC | Erechtheion | Athens, Greek mainland | |||||
| 421–405 BC | Erechtheion | Athens, Greek mainland | Lintel block, north door | ||||
| 421–405 BC | Erechtheion | Athens, Greek mainland | Ceiling beam, north porch | ||||
| ~420 BC | Temple of Segesta | Segesta, Sicily | Architrave block | ||||
| 366–326 BC | Temple of Apollo | Delphi, Greek mainland | Architrave block | ||||
| ~340 BC | Temple of Zeus | Nemea, Greek mainland | Architrave block | ||||
| ~340 BC | Temple of Zeus | Nemea, Greek mainland | Lintel block | ||||
| ~350 BC | First in Ionia, the weight of the lifted blocks begins to match again that of the Archaic period, indicating a mastery of the winch and compound pulley hoist by now. | ||||||
| ~310 BC | Temple of Apollo | Didyma, Asia Minor | Threshold | ||||
| ~310 BC | Temple of Apollo | Didyma, Asia Minor | Lintel block[2] | ||||
| ~310 BC | Temple of Apollo | Didyma, Asia Minor | |||||
| ~170 BC | Olympieion | Architrave block, largest | |||||
Below a selection of Roman monoliths sorted by their date; the list also includes work on Greek temples which was continued into the Roman era.