Cyclopean masonry is a hallmark of which culture?

• A. Mycenaean
• B. Greek
• C. Egyptian
• D. Roman

Answer: (A)

Cyclopean masonry refers to building with enormous limestone blocks laid without mortar to create massive, rugged walls. This technique is closely tied to the Mycenaean civilization of Bronze Age Greece, as seen in the great fortifications at Tiryns and Mycenae. The large, roughly worked stones give walls a monumental, security-heavy appearance that the ancient world attributed to legendary Cyclopes, hence the name. After the Bronze Age, Greek architecture shifts toward more refined, squared masonry, and later Egyptian and Roman constructions follow different methods—Egyptians with monumental stones in pyramids and temples and Romans with concrete and highly engineered ashlar work—so the distinctive, mortarless interlocking massive blocks are especially characteristic of the Mycenaeans.