Visitors to the remains of ancient Greek Syracuse will be impressed by the enormous amount of stone used to build the city.
Syracuse, like most of south-eastern Sicily, is rich in large strata of white limestone.
This material was widely used for civic, religious and military constructions. For defensive constructions, such as the Dionysian Walls, square, often “megalithic” or large blocks were used.
The Greek architects did not use mortar as a binding agent, so the walls were held together by pure gravity and exact processes were important to ensure proper results.
Of these walls, today it is only possible to touch the foundation bed that still runs silently around the city.
