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The Ancient Uses of Scaffolds

Scaffolding has a lengthy history, extending to the roots of large-scale construction in ancient Egypt. When erecting the Great Pyramid of Giza along the Nile, around 2,550 BC, builders employed scaffolding. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus (though living much later in 5th century BC) told of stones being used for building the pyramids “lifted by means of a short wooden scaffold.”

Pictorial depictions on Egyptian reliefs and tombs, dating around 1,500 BC, portray willow branches, sisal, and papyrus being used to tie wooden beams together. The willow branches were soaked for days in order to create a flexible, rope-like material. The wood used might initially have been local trees such as acacia, but ultimately strong, long cedar planks from Lebanon were imported. Wood was at a premium in the arid desert environment, and thus scaffolding was reserved for major temples, statues, and tombs.

As Mediterranean city-states such as Athens arose and grew, scaffolding saw increased use when building residential as well as public buildings. The fifth century BC witnessed the construction of the Parthenon temple on a rocky outcrop, the Acropolis. This required the use of crane scaffolding made of ramps, cranes, and a support scaffolding crafted from wooden posts and beams. Archaeologists posit that the use of cranes as part of the scaffolding system extends to the 7th century BC and the hefting of stone blocks used for Greece’s oldest known stone temples (dedicated to Poseidon at Isthmia and to Apollo at Corinth). Grooves were cut into the sides and bottoms of the blocks, which weighed up to 850 pounds, allowing their hefting via secure ropes and rudimentary lifting devices. Levers were also inserted into holes in the blocks, which enabled their precise and safe positioning. Workers would have been guiding the process of lifting the stone blocks at various levels using scaffolds.

In ancient Rome, amphitheaters, temples, aqueducts, and villas were created using wooden scaffolding. While historical records do not provide many details, the buildings themselves offer clues. A number of ancient Roman buildings still feature scaffolding holes in the masonry. Even where no traces of the building technique remain, the sheer complexity and scale of large Roman buildings suggest that advanced scaffolding was employed. This would have ranged from wooden pole scaffolding to cantilever scaffolding. The latter is employed when there’s no room for platforms at lower levels, or the ground is uneven or soft, and unable to support a scaffolding structure. Needle beams are run into the structure itself, typically anchored by a floor within the building.

For the Colosseum in Rome (then known as the Flavian Amphitheater) builders likely employed trestle scaffolding. This involved the use of tripods or step ladders as support for scaffolding, which could thus only rise a single level. The Pont du Gard aqueduct in today’s southern France also reveals the use of scaffolds in corbels, or stones that protrude from the masonry of the three-level bridge at irregular intervals. These would have enabled the anchoring of scaffolding and falsework (temporary structures for supporting the permanent structure until it is strong enough to support itself). In addition, the large square-cut stone blocks that make up the aqueduct feature numerous holes. These would likely have enabled the fastening and support of the scaffolds.