There were about 300 years between the end of the Roman era and the 're-invention' of stone buildings. It wasn't that the concept of erecting stone buildings had been entirely forgotten, just that the size of the task and the problems of dedicated labour to carry off the project were nearly insurmountable. On the continent in France and Germany, people were still putting up stone buildings, and still renovating the old Roman ones.
''Original article by Roland Williamson, 1999<br>Illustrations by Colin Levick''