01
Index of entries
Every entry in the register
Twenty-eight entries in six sections. Each one is a member, a joint, a process or a vessel: what it is cut from, what it carries, and what happens where it meets the next one.
02
Tiers, taper, the hollow interior, and finials that carry nothing.5 entries
- 01The elevation, bottom to top, and what each member carriesA gopuram is a stack of named parts. Read them in order and the taper explains itself: the section carrying the most is at the bottom, and every tier above sheds weight.7 min
- 02Why it tapersEach storey set back from the one below. Load, not style, sets the angle.3 min
- 03The hollow interiorThe upper tiers are brick and stucco over a void. What that saves and what it costs.3 min
- 04One stone, one openingThe doorway is spanned by a single lintel, so its width is set by what one stone can span.2 min
- 05Finials carry nothingThe pots along the ridge are the only part of the elevation with no load at all.2 min
03
Quarrying, dressing, bedding, and joints that hold without mortar.5 entries
- 01Joints that hold without mortarDry-laid granite relies on bed area, dressing and weight. Where that works and where it needs help.5 min
- 02Quarrying by wedgeA line of holes, wooden wedges, water. The split follows the grain if the grain is read right.3 min
- 03Dressing the bedThe face is decoration; the bed is structure. Which surface gets the labour.2 min
- 04Bedding and bearingFull contact across the bed or point loads and cracked stone. Nothing between.3 min
- 05WeatheringEight hundred years of monsoon on an open joint, and what it has and has not done.3 min
04
Bay spacing, monolithic shafts, and carving kept off the loaded face.5 entries
- 01Bay spacingThe grid of a pillared hall is set by the longest beam available, not by the plan.4 min
- 02The monolithic shaftOne stone, quarried, moved and stood. The transport problem is the real one.3 min
- 03Brackets and corbelsStepping the support outward shortens the span. The bracket is arithmetic before it is ornament.3 min
- 04Carving off the loaded faceOrnament goes where stress does not. A carved column is carved in the safe places.3 min
- 05The thousand pillarsWhat the count actually is, and why the number was worth claiming.3 min
05
Wax model, clay investment, pour, and the alloy that survived.5 entries
- 01Wax model to pourThe lost-wax sequence in order, and the two stages where the whole piece is lost if it goes wrong.4 min
- 02The investmentClay built up in layers, fine on the inside and coarse outside. Why the grading matters.3 min
- 03The alloyCopper with tin and a little lead: castability against surface. What survived the centuries and why.3 min
- 04Solid or hollowMetal is the cost. Where a core was used and where it was not worth it.3 min
- 05FinishingChasing, cold work and the detail that was never in the wax.3 min
06
Tanks, stepped sides, feeder channels, and the level they read.4 entries
- 01The tank reads a levelA temple tank is cut to the water table, not filled from it. The stepped sides are the gauge.5 min
- 02Stepped sidesAccess at every level, and a structure that does not fail as the level drops.3 min
- 03Feeder channelsWhere the water arrives from, and the fall it needs.3 min
- 04SiltThe maintenance problem that decides whether a tank survives a century.3 min
07
Timber frame, wheel construction, and streets built around a turn.4 entries
- 01A street built around a turnThe chariot's turning circle set the width of the streets around the temple. The town plan is a vehicle constraint.5 min
- 02The wheelFelloes, spokes and an iron tyre shrunk on. How a wheel that size is held together.3 min
- 03The timber framePegged, not fixed — built to flex and to be taken apart.3 min
- 04HaulingRope, people and the arithmetic of starting something very heavy moving.3 min