However, it might have been a compound arch- a very typical feature of large medieval buildings. In other words, three individual gate-arches within one overall arch: the smaller arches support the weight of the infill underneath the main arch, a "relieving arch," which sustains the weight of the wall above.
A two-opening example (windows, not doors):
http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/25630...drewmutton.jpg
__________________
The entire plot of The Lord of the Rings could be said to turn on what Sauron didn’t know, and when he didn’t know it.
Last edited by William Cloud Hicklin; 06-26-2009 at 10:18 AM.
|