|
Having planned the
temple’s main axis with its desired length and various
sections, the next step for the interior completion
was to plan the lateral apses. Once again,
the basic measure was the x-unit. It was noted that
the altars positioned in the front pair of apses of a four
apse temple were also calculated on the x-unit. The space
needed was to be one x-unit to the left and to the right
of the main passage (Fig. 10). In some cases the
calculation of the unit started from the megalith forming
the second doorway while in other cases it started from
the centre of the main passage.
The
proper lateral apse was the last piece of work to be
planned. It was observed
that a circle having one x-unit as radius could fit in the
front pair of apses of every temple. In fact its
circumference fits properly to the rounded wall of every
particular apse similar to the central apses described
earlier.
But some difficulty was
found in determining the centre of the circle for the
planning of the apse. This was caused by the various
methods which could have been used. In the majority of
cases, the temple builders first took a straight line from
the inner left end of the main doorway crossing over to
the edge of the right stepped doorway and continuing in
this direction (Fig. 11). The x-unit was then measured
from the stepped doorway along this line to find the
centre. A circle having one x-unit as radius was then
drawn from this centre. Finally, the megaliths forming the
apse were built along its circumference.
Another method for finding
the centre involved the intersection of the x-unit or the
d-unit taken from the stepped doorway and the last
megalith composing the altar. (Fig. 11) A circle with
x-unit as radius was drawn with this intersection as the
centre. Thus the proposed apse could be constructed
starting from the stepped doorway going round the
circumference of the planned circle (just described) and
straight to the altar or the second doorway. The so called
‘rope-holes’, which are mostly found at the inner end
of the main doorway and on the outside corner of the
stepped doorway may well have been made to hold the pieces
of rope to help in the planning of the apses.
It was observed that the
different methods for planning the centre of the lateral
apses could
be found in the same temple. In many cases, the right apse
was not planned in the same way as the left apse. This
makes it clear that the temple was not built in a
symetrical way. For example, at Skorba and Ggantija S. the
centre of the left apse was to be two x-units from the
stepped doorway instead of one x-unit, thus making the
left apse longer compared to the right apse.
In
the temples with four apses and a niche, the inner pair of
apses were planned using
the same method, but with a different x-unit. A
smaller x-unit was calculated from the width of the
stepped doorway of the second doorway, which was normally
narrower than the main dorway. This resulted in a smaller
pair of apses, as found at Ggantija N. (Fig. 11), Tarxien
South and Central, and Mnajdra Central.
|
