Stone slab

A stone slab is a big stone, flat and of little thickness, that are generally used for paving floors, for covering walls or as headstones.[1]

Stone table made of slabs.
Dolmen made of stone-slabs Romanyà de la Selva (Baix Empordà).

Other definitions refine the meaning a bit more:

  • Flat big stone and of little thickness.
  • Flat stone, relatively thin, of rectangular form or almost rectangular.

In dolmens

Most dolmen constructions were built using stone slabs of big dimensions. Their architecture often includes a corridor of access that can be constructed using stone slabs or dry stones. The burial chamber, with variable shapes (e.g. rectangular, polygonal, oval, circular) can also be preceded by an anteroom. In some dolmens, the entrance has a door cut into one or more vertical stone slabs.[2][3]

In construction
Floor with slabs in a street of Pompeia

The main applications of the slabs as material of construction are for pavings and in the construction of roofs. They can be employed for other uses, among them:

  • Balconies formed from a slab
  • Dry stone constructions of: walls, caves, rooms.
  • The base of some fireplaces are built with stone slabs (a big one or some smaller together).
  • In religious altars, the altar stone can be a stone slab, more or less elaborated or in its natural state.
  • In rustic tables.
  • Slate roofs are roofs which are made out of Slate slabs.[4][5][6]

In gastronomy

One system of cooking is cooking "to the slab".[7] Similar to the systems of "to the iron" or "grilled", in the procedure to bake to the slab the foods (e.g. meat, fish, vegetables) are put on a slab heated on a fire with oil, butter or lard and other garnishings.[8]

  • This system was rather popular in zones of the Pyrenees and often practised by farmers and shepherds. At present it can consider incorporated to the gastronomy of all the levels.[2][9][10]

Grave slabs
Multilingual grave slab: Welsh, English, French

From prehistoric times there have been examples of graves covered with a stone slab, in its natural state or carved. This use of slabs as tombstone has extended the concept of natural slab to the tombstone variant: flat, thin and polished. An instance is the slab in the tomb of King Pere el Gran of Aragon, which weighs 900 kg.[11]

Such tombstones usually have inscriptions. This traditionally includes the name of the deceased, date of birth and/or death. The inscriptions are generally on a frontal side but also in some cases in the verso (on the top side) and around the edges. Some families commission or make an inscription on the underside. Some also have epitaphs: in praise (eulogies); citations of religious texts, such as "Requiescat in pace"; sentiments or quotations.[12]

A pyramidal or 'hipped' stone slab, sometimes surmounting another base or fuller sarcophagus is a design seen across all continents as most organic debris will fall off of this and overgrowth from moss, grass and akin lowest-level plants. Examples are the graves of Sir John Whittaker Ellis and of the 1st Baron Cozens-Hardy.

Washboards
Different types of washboards

Washing clothes is a basic need in civilised societies and, in general, in all the parts of the world. In primitive periods—before running water, washing machines and detergents—it was necessary to go to wash the clothes to the river bank or in a laundry room.

Clothes were washed manually, by rubbing and sometimes striking them against a hard surface with soap. The aim was to do penetrate the mix of water and soap between the fibres of the fabric to pull-out the dirt. The slabs to wash the clothes were slabs of natural stone chosen to present a fine and relatively flat surface. The small rounded irregularities could help of friction in the washing process.[13][14]

  • In some cases "artificial slabs" were made especially, in which the friction surface was wood, although the apparatus was still called "washing slab".
  • There were also "artificial slabs" made with an undulated steel sheet. (These type of washboards have been used as percussion instruments in jazz and blues bands).)[15]
  • The wash to the stone of cowboys trousers and similar clothes is a stone washing process that uses the friction of some parts of the clothes against a coarse stone (or similar). The aim is to achieve a change of appearance of the clothes, imitating natural wear.

As hunting traps
Tunisian trap to hunt alive birds. A slab-trap is very much alike but more conclusive.

Hunting with slabs is a system of hunting by means of a slab-trap. The fundamental part of the device is a slab. Preparing this trap was a delicate task.[10][16][17]

  • Preparation of the trap: A slab of suitable dimensions is held in a raised position forming an appropriate angle with the horizontal. The slab, in unstable position, held in place by means of a few twigs or branches in a particular state, a state that can be called "ready to be triggered" (or at the trigger point). Once the slab is ready, one needs to put a suitable bait to attract the animal that wants to capture.
  • When the animal (e.g. bird, rabbit) tries to eat the bait, the slab falls on top of the animal and gets trapped (or crushed).

The term "slab" in toponyms

From the term slab and its derivatives, there are many toponyms among them.

See also

References
  1. Thomas Dyche; William Pardon (1740). A New General English Dictionary; Peculiarly Calculated for the Use and Improvement of Such as are Unacquainted with the Learned Languages... and Now Finishʼd by William Pardon. Richard Ware, at the Bible and Sun in Warwick-Lane, Amen-Corner. pp. 772–.
  2. Francesc Antillach Comabella; Antònia Ortiz Pedrosa (2003). Caminades per la Noguera. Cossetània Edicions. pp. 60–. ISBN 978-84-96035-21-8.
  3. Anna Borbonet; Jordi Sanglas i Puigferrer (1999). Tavertet, el seu terme i els seus noms de lloc. L'Abadia de Montserrat. pp. 100–. ISBN 978-84-8415-110-4.
  4. Pablo Collado Trabanco; David Nuño Peña (2006). Supervisión de ejecución de acabados, revestimientos y cubiertas. Lex Nova. pp. 125–. ISBN 978-84-7557-180-5.
  5. Estructuras metálicas. Reverte. 1980. pp. 169–. ISBN 978-84-7146-199-5.
  6. Juan José Trujillo Cebrián (10 December 2013). Ejecución de faldones en cubiertas. EOCB0208. IC Editorial. pp. 208–. ISBN 978-84-15994-96-1.
  7. www.esimple.it, © Esimple srl -. "Tortello alla lastra".
  8. Primitive Cooking Stuffed Bannock On A Stone
  9. La cuina catalana segons Jaume Fàbrega
  10. Josep Gironès Descarrega (2005). La cuina més senzilla d'una dona del terròs. Cossetània Edicions. pp. 43–. ISBN 978-84-9791-121-4.
  11. Llosa de la tomba de Pere el Gran Archived 2016-10-27 at the Wayback Machine
  12. Fergus Wessell. "Headstone Gallery". Archived from the original on 2013-07-07. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  13. Josep Massot i Muntaner (10 November 2010). Obra del Cançoner Popular de Catalunya. Volum XX.: Missions de recerca. L'Abadia de Montserrat. pp. 219–. ISBN 978-84-9883-337-9.
  14. "QUI TÉ ROBA PER RENTAR?". Icaria Editorial. 16 July 2008 – via Google Books.
  15. "History of washboards, invention of zinc scrub boards & other rubbing boards".
  16. Moisés D. Boza (March 2012). El trampeo y demás artes de caza tradicionales en la península ibérica. Editorial HISPANO EUROPEA. pp. 4–. ISBN 978-84-255-1446-3.
  17. Diccionari catalá-castellá-llatí-frances-italiá, 1. En la imprèmpta de Joseph Torner. 1839. pp. 147–.
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