Monolithic column

A monolithic column or single-piece column is a large column of which the shaft is made from a single piece of stone instead of in vertical sections. Smaller columns are very often made from single pieces of stone, but are less often described as monolithic, as the term is normally reserved for less common, larger columns made in this way. Choosing to use monolithic columns produces considerable extra difficulties in quarrying and transport, and may be seen as a statement of grandeur and importance in a building.

As an example of this level of choice, Shoghi Effendi cabled Bahá'ís of the world in 1948 about the Shrine of the Báb on December 10, 1948:

The Shrine of the Báb's monolithic columns are made of rose granite from Baveno.

Monolithic columns are characteristic of Ancient Egyptian temples, and the examples in the portico of the Pantheon in Rome were also transported from Egypt. Byzantine churches in the Theodosian dynasty (379-457 AD) also show use of monolithic columns. Examples of single-piece columns have also been found in architecture from the Yucatán Peninsula.

In modern architecture, using concrete the situation is different, and the term is less likely to be used in this context.