Cyclopean Structure

a structure built of huge stone blocks without mortar, such as cement or lime. The name was given by the ancient Greeks to the huge structures of the Aegean culture, which were attributed to the cyclopes, legendary giants.

Remains of cyclopean structures are found in many countries. In archaeology and architecture, the concept of cyclopean structures coincides to a certain extent with the concept of megalithic structures (seeMEGALITH). The oldest cyclopean structures, mainly defensive or religious structures, date from the Aeneolithic period (third millennium B.C.); most date from the late Bronze and early Iron ages (late second and early first millennia B.C.). The most striking examples of cyclopean structures are the defensive walls of Mycenae and Tiryns, the Sardinian nuraghi, the ancient religious buildings of the Balearic Islands and the island of Malta, and ancient Peruvian architecture. In the USSR, remains of cyclopean structures have been found in Transcaucasia, the Crimea, Tadzhikstan, and Siberia.,