Anathyrosis
A masonry technique which describes the narrow smooth band around the top and two vertical edges of a joint surface surrounding a rougher, sunken center. This technique allows the block edges to fit closely together without having to dress the entire surface. Though usually found only on vertical joint surfaces, anathyrosis was also used on the horizontal joints of column drums. This technique was evidently invented by the first builders of monumental stone masonry in Greece in the 7th c. B.C. The earliest example is found in the first temple of Poseidon at Isthmia (680-650 B.C.), and it was used continuously thereafter. Term: A modern word invented to describe the visual appearance of a joint treated in this manner which resembles the trim of a door (Greek thyra).
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