Sylvanus G. Morley reports on the presence of lime-concrete among the Maya.

Date
1956
Type
Book
Source
Sylvanus G. Morley
Non-LDS
Hearsay
Direct
Secondary
Reference

Sylvanus G. Morley, The Ancient Maya, 3rd ed. (Stanford, CA.: Stanford University Press, 1956), 316, 319

Scribe/Publisher
Stanford University Press
People
Sylvanus G. Morley
Audience
Reading Public
PDF
Transcription

LIME-CONCRETE AND BEAM ROOFS

In addition to corbeled roof vaults, flat lime-concrete and beam roofs are also found in Maya architecture. They have been discovered for the Classic stage at Piedras Negras, Uaxactun, and Tzimin Kax; for the Postclassic, at Chicen Itza and at such relatively late sites along the east coast of Yucatan as Tulum and Chac Mool. The lime-concrete roofs were constructed on top of cross-beams, the interbeam spaces being filled with a temporary wattle-work of saplings. On this framework, a lime-concrete roofing was built up on the thickness of a foot or more, and when it had set firmly the wattlework was removed. This method of roofing is common in Yucatan today. The residue of such a roof is hard to identity in excavation since it disintegrates into small stones and a powdery lime. However, in most cases where vault stones are not found in excavating masonry buildings, it is safe to assume that the structures had been roofed with concrete and beams.

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