#monument

• Acrolith — A type of statue from classical antiquity (especially Greek) constructed structuraly from a combination of materials: the visible extremities were carved from marble, while the torso was made of wood.
• The Acropolis — The proper name of the most famous and representative acropolis of the ancient world, situated on a flat rock dominating the city of Athens, Greece. This monumental complex of exceptional universal architectural value houses masterpieces of the Classical era (5th century BC, coordinated by Pericles and Phidias), including the Parthenon temple, the Erechtheion with its caryatids, the temple of Athena Nike, and the Propylaea.
• Acropolitan — Pertaining to the acropolis or the Acropolis of Athens, originating from the acropolis, or specific to the architectural style, monuments, and history of this ancient fortified precinct; relating to the religious or military community active inside the hilltop citadel.
• Acroterium — A learned technical form or direct transliteration of the Latin term acroterium; it represents the small plinth or decorative finishing element placed at key points of aclassical pediment to support statues or plant ornaments. Its structure ensures the correct weight distribution of decorative sculptures onto the building's entablature support.
• Adam-Klisi — A graphical, historical, or popular variant for the toponym 'Adamclisi', designating a commune in Constanța County, famous for the Roman archaeological complex hosting the Tropaeum Traiani triumphal monument, erected in the 2nd century. This structural name originates from the Turkish language, where 'Adam Kilisesi' literally means 'Man's Church' or 'Church of Adam', as Ottoman locals mistook the ancient monument's ruins for a church structure.
• Adamclisi — A locality and archaeological site of exceptional historical importance located in Constanța County, Romania, famous for housing the Roman triumphal monument Tropaeum Traiani. This archaeological complex was erected between 106-109 AD by order of Emperor Trajan to celebrate the victory of the Roman army over the coalition of Dacians, Getae, and Sarmatians following the bloody battles of the winter of 101-102 AD.
• Aita Mare — A geographical proper noun designating a commune in Covasna County, Transylvania region, situated within the Baraolt depression, as well as its homonymous residential village. The locality holds remarkable historical and cultural significance in the multicultural Carpathian territory, being documented since the 14th century and internationally recognized for its fortified Unitarian church (a 14th-16th century historical monument), which structurally reflects medieval defensive architecture elements specific to the local Székely communities.
• Almașu Mare — The name of a commune and its homonymous residential village located in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania, situated in the Metaliferi Mountains. The region is famous since antiquity (the Daco-Roman period) for its rich gold and precious metal mining operations, while also hosting spectacular natural monuments such as the Cibul or Glod Gorges and a valuable local ethnographic museum.
• High relief — A genre of relief sculpture in which the figures or decorative motifs are highly prominent, standing out strongly from the background without completely detaching from it (projecting by more than half of their true volume); a work executed in this sculptural style.
• High relief — A unified form or consolidated variant (spelled without a hyphen) for 'alto-relief'; a genre of relief sculpture in which figures, characters, or decorative motifs protrude strongly, standing out three-dimensionally from the background by more than half of their real volume, without completely detaching from the base panel.
• Anastylosis — An archaeological method and scientific technique for restoring a partially collapsed or ruined historical monument, consisting of reassembling and returning to their original positions the authentic architectural fragments found on-site (columns, capitals, friezes). This precision intervention is carried out under strict international regulations, allowing the use of modern materials only minimally and visibly, strictly to ensure the structural stability of the complex.
• Ancyra — The ancient Greco-Roman name of the current city of Ankara, the capital of the Republic of Turkey. Located in the historical region of Galatia in central Anatolia, the city was a highly strategic commercial, military, and administrative hub within the Roman and Byzantine Empires, famous in historiography for the Monumentum Ancyranum, the temple preserving Emperor Augustus's official autobiography.
• Anepigraphous — A term defining an ancient monument, a funerary stele, a coin, or an archaeological object completely lacking any inscription, written text, or engraved legend. As an adjective, it describes the structural state of a historical artifact that, although specially made to commemorate an event or serve as a medium of exchange, contains no paleographical elements, leaving its identification to style or context analysis alone.
• Sub-plinth — A prominent structural or decorative architectural element located at the lower section of a building, beneath the main plinth, designed to absorb initial mechanical loads and protect the structure from ground moisture. In classical design, it serves as a visual transitional platform.
• Ancient — Belonging to Antiquity, relating to the distant times of human history (especially to the period of the Greek and Roman civilizations); originating from ancient eras or bearing the stamp of great antiquity. In a cultural and aesthetic sense, the term describes vestiges, monuments, artworks, or literary traditions preserved over centuries, representing the classical foundation of modern civilization.
• Counter-tilting support — A structural element, counterforce, or architectural consolidation technique used to counteract the tilt, uneven settling, or deviation from the vertical axis of a structure or tower; a technical method applied to create a back-pressure to that exerted by the asymmetrical weight of the building. In a historical and restorative sense, the term describes engineering solutions aimed at stabilizing monuments affected by soil instability, providing a support point opposite to the direction of collapse.
• Apold — A commune and locality in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania, remarkable for its Saxon historical and cultural heritage, specifically reflected by its Evangelical Fortified Church erected between the 14th and 16th centuries. The locality is historically documented since 1309 under the name Apoldia, representing a significant landmark for medieval defensive architecture and rural community traditions in the region.
• Apollonia — The name borne by numerous colonies and city-states across the ancient Greco-Roman world, founded in honor of the god Apollo, the most renowned being Apollonia in Illyria (modern-day Albania) and Apollonia Pontica (modern-day Sozopol, Bulgaria, on the Black Sea coast). These settlements represented major urban, commercial, and cultural hubs fostering strategic maritime and academic routes essential for the Mediterranean basin.
• Aquilegia transsilvanica — A species of herbaceous perennial plants in the genus Aquilegia, endemic to the mountain chain of the Romanian Carpathians (especially in the high limestone areas of Bucegi, Piatra Craiului, and Făgăraș); this structural plant stands out for its large, intense blue-violet flowers, being declared a monument of nature and strictly protected in alpine reserves due to its restrictive geographical range.
• Arles — A historic city and commune in southern France, located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, on the Rhône River. Renowned for its exceptional Roman and Romanesque architectural heritage inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list (such as the Roman Amphitheatre), the city holds major structural importance in art history, being the place where painter Vincent van Gogh lived and produced some of his most famous masterpieces.