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Stone slab

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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.

Contents

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...

    • Slabs used in dolmens

    Most dolmen constructions they were built using stone slabs of big dimensions. Their architecture often includes a corridor of access that can be constructed usins stone slabs or dry stones. The burial chamber, with variable shapes (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.

    Slabs in the construction

    The main applications of the slabs as material of construction are for pavings and in the construction of roofs. But 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 build 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 slabs used for roofs.

    • Slabs in the gastronomy

    A system to cook the foods is “to the slab”. In like manner to the systems of “to the iron” or “grilled”, in the procedure to bake to the slab the foods course (meat, fish, vegetables,...) They put on a slab hot on of the fire. With oil, butter or lard and all the aditaments with that want to dress the teak.

  • 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.
  • The same slab to cook can employ, sometimes, to serve . Taking it out of the fire and carrying it to the table. Or using it directly like dish. When conserving the slab the heat more than other utensils can enjoy of foods to a higher temperature and during more time.

    • Grave slabs

    From prehistoric times there are examples of graves covered with a stone slab, in its natural state or carved. This use as tombstone has extended the concept of natural slab to the tombstone variant: flat, thin and polished. Example: the slab in the tomb of King Pere el Gran of Aragon, with a weight of 900 kg.

    The tombstones use to have some inscriptions. The information on the stone slab traditionally includes the name of the deceased and his date of birth and death. The inscriptions are generally in the frontal side of the stone slab but also in some cases in the verso and around the edges of the slab, some families request to write an inscription in the unseen part of the stone slab (oriented to the ground). Apart from the name, some slabs also have epitaphs in praise of the deceased or citations of religious texts, as "Requiescat in pace".

    Slab washboards

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

    The clothes washed manually, with soap needed some rubbing and sometimes striking them against a hard surface. 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.

  • In some cases "artificial slabs" were made especially, in which the friction surface was wood, although the apparatus was still called "washing slab".
  • Also there were “artificial slabs” made with an undulated steel sheet. (These type of washboards have formed part, as percussion instruments, in jazz and blues bands).(See Washboard)
  • The wash to the stone of trousers cowboys 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 clothe, imitating the natural wear.

    • Slabs as hunting traps

    Hunt with slab is a system to hunting by means of a slab-trap. The fundamental part of the device is a slab. Preparing this trap was a delicate task.

  • 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 (bird, rabbit,...) tries to eat the bait, by touching any twig the slab falls on top of the animal and gets trapped (or crushed).

    • The term "slab" in toponyms

    From the term slab and his derivatives there are a big quantity of toponyms among them.

    References

    Stone slab Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA