''Opus spicatum'', literally "spiked work," is a type of

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

construction used in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

times. It consists of

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...

s or cut

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

laid in a herringbone pattern.

Uses

Its usage was generally decorative and most commonly it served as a pavement, though it was also used as an

infill In urban planning, infill, or in-fill, is the rededication of land in an Urban area, urban environment, usually Urban open space, open-space, to new construction. Infill also applies, within an urban polity, to construction on any Greenfield land, ...

pattern in walls, as in the striking base of the causeway leading up to the gate tower at

Tamworth Castle Tamworth Castle, a Grade I listed building, is a Norman castle overlooking the mouth of the River Anker into the Tame in the town of Tamworth in Staffordshire, England. Before boundary changes in 1889, however, the castle was within the edge of ...

. Unless the elements run horizontally and vertically, it is inherently weak, since the oblique angles of the elements tend to spread the pattern horizontally under compression. The type of construction was constantly employed in

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

and Romanesque work, and in the latter was regarded as a test of very early date. It is frequently found in the Byzantine walls in

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, and in Byzantine churches was employed decoratively to give variety to the wall surface. Sometimes the diagonal courses are reversed one above the other. The herringbone pattern produces opposing shear plane faces, increasing the relative surface area and therefore rendering it a sounder design for mortar and brick.

Firebacks

Herringbone work, particularly in stone, is also used to make firebacks in stone hearths. Acidic flue gases tend to corrode lime mortar, so a finely set herringbone could remain intact with a minimum of mortar used.

Usk Castle Usk Castle () is a castle site in the town of Usk in central Monmouthshire, south-east Wales, United Kingdom. It was listed Grade I on 16 February 1953. Within the castle, and incorporating parts of its gatehouse, stands Castle House, a Grade ...

has several fine examples.

Examples

The herringbone method was used by

Filippo Brunelleschi Filippo di ser Brunellesco di Lippo Lapi (1377 – 15 April 1446), commonly known as Filippo Brunelleschi ( ; ) and also nicknamed Pippo by Leon Battista Alberti, was an Italian architect, designer, goldsmith and sculptor. He is considered to ...

in constructing the dome of the Cathedral of Florence (

Santa Maria del Fiore Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christm ...

). Examples in France exist in the churches at

Querqueville Querqueville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

and St Christophe at

Suèvres Suèvres () is a commune of the Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Population See also *Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune o ...

, both dating from the 10th century, and in England herring-bone masonry is found in the walls of castles, such as at

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

and Tamworth, as well as

in Wales. Herringbone brickwork was also a feature of

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

References

Opus caementicium roman walls
{{commonscat, Opus spicatum Bricks Building stone Pavements Architectural elements Ancient Roman construction techniques