Boss (architecture)

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In architecture, a boss is a knob or protrusion of stone or wood.

One common example of a boss can be found in the ceilings of buildings, particularly at the intersection of a vault. In Gothic architecture, such roof bosses (or ceiling bosses) were often intricately carved with foliage, heraldic devices or other decorations. Many feature animals, birds, or human figures or faces, sometimes realistic, but often grotesque: the Green Man is a frequent subject.

Bosses were also an important feature of ancient and Classical construction. When stone components were rough-cut offsite at quarries, they were usually left with bosses (small knobs) protruding on at least one side. This allowed for easy transport of the materials to the site; once there, the bosses also facilitated raising and/or inserting the pieces into place. An excellent and still extant example of such bosses can be seen at the Greek Doric temple of Segesta, at which construction was never completed. The bosses of several key elements of the temple, notably the crepidoma, remain as a testament to the construction process.

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The crepidoma of the Temple at Segesta, Sicily, showing a boss on each individual piece of stone. The bosses would have been removed in the finished version of the temple.	Early English roof bosses in Salisbury Cathedral, England	Green Man roof boss from Dore Abbey, Herefordshire, England	The nave of St. Mary Redcliffe church, Bristol, England. Some of the thousand gilded roof bosses can be seen	Wooden bosses at Church of St. Probus and St. Hyacinth in Brisland (England)
Bosses at Hereford cathedral (England)	Bosses at Worcester cathedral (England)	Bosses at Worcester cathedral (England)	A boss at a church in Chelmno (Poland)]]	Bosses at Barcelona Cathedral (Spain)
Griffin boss at Cadouin Abbey (France)	Veronica's veil boss at Cadouin Abbey (France)	Madonna and child boss in Germany