07/01/2025
MUNSTER WALL The Gathering of Stones
The Munster wall is an example of a , 'Freestanding, single, wedged dry stone wall'.
This means the wall stands freely by itself and is a single stone wide.
There is no mortar in a dry stone wall.
It gets its strength from points of contact.
The knowledge of 'how to' do so in Ireland is recognised by the UNESCO Convention of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity.
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MORE ABOUT SINGLE WEDGED DRY STONE WALLS
A 'wedged' dry stone wall uses the stone vertically.
So, why did we choose this pattern for the wall representing Munster at The Gathering of Stones?
In Ireland, this style is very common in South Munster in particular, and can be found in upland areas in South Tipperary, South Kerry and (especially) throughout South Cork, from east to west.
Using the stone this way developed from millenia of experiences of using the material in ways that make for durable walls. This knowledge is shared between builders as they construct the wall together. It is this activity that transfers the knowledge from one generation to the next.
SOME BENEFITS OF BUILDING WEDGED WALLS
• Flowing water - estuaries and river banks where moving water can push and lift flat laid walls. The wedged pattern is more durable
(see photos 8, 11 & 12)
• Ditches - where water and root systems can push flat work easier but instead actually 'flows and grows' between and holds wedged stones together
(see photo 12)
• If you have lots of small tabular stones which don't have much mass or strength when laid flat but that when wedged together have lots of horizontal tension (see photo 10).
• A wall of flat stone laid flat takes a long time to build up. Wedged walls go up faster. The Munster wall at the Gathering of Stones took the least amount of voluntary hours to build.
10 TIPS FOR BUILDING A FREESTANDING SINGLE WEDGED DRY STONE WALL . 👇
1) Sort stones into lengths; longest stones are for the base of the wall.
2) Measure width of the wall from the centre out. When building the Munster wall at The Gathering of Stones, we painted a line on the ground to mark the center of the wall and this was our only guide until we got to finish height.
3) The length of the stone goes across the wall from front to back.
4) When laying the stone, it should split the line. This means that (unless you trim all your stone to equal lengths for every row or course) the face of the wall will be wildly in and out (see photos 1 & 2) . This is not a problem, the strength of the wall lies in using shortening lengths as the wall goes up, and not in a smooth or clean face.
5) The stones get shorter as you go up in height and so the wall has a natural batter (i.e. gets thinner).
6) The ends of wedged walls are difficult to make strong because of the horizontal tension in this pattern. It pushes out along its length. We set tall standing stones (one third into the ground) at the ends of the wall before we began.
7) As you lay your first row it is important to have a significant difference in height either side of each stone. This allows for a strong bond and avoids horizontal running joints (see photo 13). These are a weakness in wedged wall types. Hence, your first row will end up like an indented row or crennelated edge. The phrase I like to use to remember this is "High low, high low, is the way to go".
8) As you wedge in the rows the stones will 'tighten up' but where you have any wobbles you can drop a small thin wedge stone between the stones, along the centre line.
9) As you come up the wall a top line (run off the standing ends) will be needed. When you pull this line you should then set every second stone to finish height to have a toothed pattern (high-low-high-low again). The deeper those low sockets you have between the stones the better, as it will mean that the final stones you add will be as big as possible. These are the most vulnerable stones in a single wedged wall. They should be checked for any wobbles and small wedges can be hammered in between them to tighten them up.
10) Always work in a line laying one stone next (and tight) to the other and don't jump around from one place to the next. A single wedged wall is strongest when set this way.
