Staddle Stones
In Switzerland I saw my first staddle stones, one of the more charming dry stone elements that humans have devised. Staddle stones are the round caps on each of the stubby posts that raise the barns off the ground, acting like a collar to keep rodents from climbing up into the barns.
In Switzerland I think they are most common in the side valleys of the Valais. These photos are from Saas Fee and Randa, near Zermatt.
I also loved the slate roofs. Bigger pieces than I’ve ever seen on a slate roof in California.
The rails near the bottom of the roofs serve as an anchor for the snow that builds up on the roofs during the winter, stopping the snow from sliding off and potentially braining someone.
This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2019 at 7:41 am and is filed under stone. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
