Urban and religious architecture, in other words, palaces, villas, town houses and temples, were built with alternating layers of stone and wood. Wooden beams, reinforcing elements of the buildings, were placed horizontally to support the walls and the openings, whether doors or windows. One of the most notable characteristics of the Ethiopian Axumite technique is that of allowing the beams to protrude slightly from the walls. This unique technique has come to be known as ‘monkey’s head’ because of the resemblance of these wooden projections to heads protruding from the walls. Most surviving Axumite structures have large, carefully cut blocks of granite or limestone at all corners, which protect, join and support the weaker parts of the walls. Granite and stone were also used for architectural elements such as columns, bases and capitals, doors, windows, floors and stairs.