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Dry stone, dry laid in the USA, or drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. A certain amount of binding is obtained through the use of carefully selected interlocking stones.
Dry stone construction is best known in the context of , traditionally used for the boundaries of fields and , or as for terracing, but dry stone shelters, houses and other structures also exist. The term tends not to be used for the many historic styles which used precisely-shaped stone, but did not use mortar, for example the Greek temple and Inca architecture.
The art of dry stone walling was inscribed in 2018 on the UNESCO representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity, for dry stone walls in countries such as France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Switzerland and Spain. In 2024, Ireland was added to the list.
The cyclopean walls of the acropolis of Mycenae, Greece, have been dated to 1350 BC and those of Tiryns slightly earlier. Similar example is Daorson, in Bosnia, built around a prehistoric central fortified settlement or acropolis (existed there c. 17–16th C. BCE to the end of the Bronze Age, c. 9–8th C. BCE), and surrounded by cyclopean walls (similar to Mycenae) dated to the 4th C. BCE.
In Belize, the Mayan ruins at Lubaantun illustrate use of dry stone construction in architecture of the 8th and 9th centuries AD.
Great Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe, Africa, is an acropolis-like large city complex constructed in dry stone from the 11th to the 15th centuries AD. It is the largest of structures of similar construction throughout the area.
In the United States they are common in areas with rocky soils, such as New England, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They are a notable characteristic of the bluegrass region of central Kentucky, the Ozarks of Arkansas and Missouri, as well as Virginia, where they are usually referred to as rock fences or stone fences, and the Napa Valley in north central California. The technique of construction was brought to America primarily by English people and Scots-Irish immigrants. The technique was also taken to Australia (principally western Victoria,Shire of Melton Dry Stone Walls Study, Volume 1 – The Report, August 2011 some parts of Tasmania, and some parts of New South Wales, particularly around Kiama) and New Zealand (especially Otago).
Similar walls also are found in the Swiss–Italian border region, where they are often used to enclose the open space under large natural boulders or outcrops.
The higher-lying rock-rich fields and pastures in Bohemia's south-western border range of Šumava (e.g. around the mountain river of Vydra) are often lined by dry stone walls built of fieldstone removed from the arable or cultural land. They serve both as cattle/sheep fences and the lot's borders. Sometimes also the dry stone terracing is apparent, often combined with parts of stone masonry (house foundations and shed walls) that are held together by a clay and pine needle "composite" mortar.
The dry stone walling tradition of Croatia was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in November 2018, alongside those of Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland. In Croatia, dry stone walls (suhozidi) were built for a variety of reasons: to clear the earth of stone for crops; to delineate land ownership; or for shelter against the bora wind. Some walls date back to the Liburnians era. Notable examples include the island of Baljenac, which has of dry stone walls despite being only in area, and the vineyards of Primošten.
Sauvignargues 535.jpg|"Cabane de Malais" at Souvignargues, Gard, France
Capitelle gard3.jpg|Dry stone hut at Vers-Pont-du-Gard, Gard, France
VITRAC (Dordogne) - Cabane en pierre sèche de Pech Lauzier.jpg|Dry stone hut at Vitrac, Dordogne, France
Orri des Estrets, vallée de Vicdessos, Ariège.jpg|Summer hut in the Vicdessos area, Ariège, French Pyrenees
Machu Picchu 2005 - panoramio (6).jpg|Intihuatana ritual buildings of dry stone at Machu Picchu, Peru
In Peru in the 15th century AD, the Inca made use of otherwise unusable slopes by building dry stone walls to create terraces. They also employed this mode of construction for freestanding walls. Their ashlar type construction in Machu Picchu uses the classic Inca architectural style of polished dry stone walls of regular shape. The Incas were masters of this technique, in which blocks of stone are cut to fit together tightly without mortar. Many junctions are so perfect that not even a knife fits between the stones. The structures have persisted in the high earthquake region because of the flexibility of the walls, and because in their double wall architecture, the two portions of the walls incline into each other.
In addition to gates, a wall may contain smaller purposely built gaps for the passage or control of wildlife and livestock such as sheep. The smaller holes usually no more than in height are called "Bolt Holes" or "Smoots". Larger ones may be between in height, which are called "Cripple Holes".
Boulder walls are a type of single wall in which the wall consists primarily of large boulders, around which smaller stones are placed. Single walls work best with large, flatter stones. Ideally, the largest stones are being placed at the bottom and the whole wall tapers toward the top. Sometimes a row of capstones completes the top of a wall, with the long rectangular side of each capstone perpendicular to the wall alignment.
Galloway dykes consist of a base of double-wall construction or larger boulders with single-wall construction above. They appear to be rickety, with many holes, which deters livestock (and people) from attempting to cross them. These dykes are principally found in locations with exceptionally high winds, where a solid wall might be at risk of being unsettled by the buffeting. The porous nature of the wall significantly reduces wind force but takes greater skill to construct. They are also found in grazing areas where they are used to maximize the utility of the available stones (where ploughing was not turning up ever more stones).
]]Another variation is the Cornish hedge or Welsh clawdd, which is a stone-clad earth bank topped by turf, scrub, or trees and characterised by a strict inward-curved batter (the slope of the "hedge"). As with many other varieties of wall, the height is the same as the width of the base, and the top is half the base width.
Different regions have made minor modifications to the general method of construction—sometimes because of limitations of building material available, but also to create a look that is distinctive for that area. Whichever method is used to build a dry stone wall, considerable skill is required. Correcting any mistakes invariably means disassembling down to the level of the error. Selection of the correct stone for every position in the wall makes an enormous difference to the lifetime of the finished product, and a skilled waller will take time making the selection.
As with many older crafts, skilled wallers, today, are few in number. With the advent of modern wire fencing, fields can be fenced with much less time and expense using wire than using stone walls; however, the initial expense of building dykes is offset by their sturdiness and consequent long, low-maintenance lifetimes. As a result of the increasing appreciation of the landscape and heritage value of dry stone walls, wallers remain in demand, as do the walls themselves. A nationally recognised certification scheme is operated in the UK by the Dry Stone Walling Association, with four grades from Initial to Master Craftsman.
Notable examples include the Mourne Wall, a wall in the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland, and the wall around the Ottenby nature reserve, built by Charles X Gustav in the mid-17th century in Öland, Sweden.
Traditional turf-roofed Highland were constructed using the double-wall dry stone method. When buildings are constructed using this method, the middle of the wall is generally filled with earth or sand in order to eliminate draughts. During the Iron Age, and perhaps earlier, the technique also was used to build fortifications such as the walls of Eketorp Castle (Öland, Sweden), Maiden Castle, North Yorkshire, Reeth, Dunlough Castle in southwest Ireland and the rampart of the Long Scar Dyke. Many of the dry-stone walls that exist today in Scotland can be dated to the 14th century or earlier when they were built to divide fields and retain livestock. Some extremely well built examples are found on the lands of Muchalls Castle., Gloucestershire, UK]]
Dry stone walls can be built against embankments or even vertical terraces. If they are subjected to lateral earth pressure, they are retaining walls of the type gravity wall. The weight of the stones resists the pressure from the retained soil, including any surcharges, and the friction between the stones causes most of them to act as if they were a monolithic gravity wall of the same weight. Dry stone retaining walls were once built in great numbers for agricultural terracing and also to carry paths, roads and railways. Although dry stone is seldom used for these purposes today, a great many are still in use and maintained. New ones are often built in gardens and nature conservation areas. Dry stone retaining structures continue to be a subject of research.
In northeastern Somalia, on the coastal plain to Aluula's east are found ruins of an ancient monument in a platform style. The structure is formed by a rectangular dry stone wall that is low in height; the space in between is filled with rubble and manually covered with small stones. Relatively large standing stones are also positioned on the edifice's corners. Near the platform are graves, which are outlined in stones. Measuring , the structure is the largest of a string of ancient platform and enclosed platform monuments exclusive to far northeastern Somalia.
In Great Britain, Ireland, France and Switzerland, it is possible to find small dry stone structures built as signs, marking mountain paths or boundaries of owned land. In many countries, , as they are called in Scotland, are used as road and mountaintop markers.
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