Cathedral at Durham

The system of alternate piers was an invention of the Romanesque builders of northern Italy and is to be seen at S. Ambrogio, Milan, and S. Zeno at Verona, but here at Durham the system derives a special character as a result of the deep-cut Celtic weaving patterns on the circular columns. Each of the standards size stones, from which these columns are built, bears a mark to indicate its positions, and it was delivered to the site ready for incorporation into the fabric. This system of off-site fabrication largely explains the rapid rate of building the main body of the cathedral. The wall arcading also derives from Italian Romanesque.