Socle (architecture)

In architecture, a socle is a short plinth used to support a pedestal, sculpture or column. In the field of archaeology, this term is used to refer to a wall base, frequently of stone, that supports the upper part of the wall, which is made of a different material, frequently mud brick. This was a typical building practice for ancient Greece, resulting in the frequent preservation of the plans of ancient buildings only in their stone-built lower walls, as at the city of Olynthos.