The Interlocking Granite Carpentry of a Lost Masterwork: An Architectural Autopsy of Mortarless Lingnan Masonry and Hybrid Iron Fastening Systems in Nineteenth Century Penang.

The 1884 mausoleum of Madam Foo Teng Nyong in Penang represents a highly specialized manifestation of elite classical Lingnan funerary architecture within maritime Southeast Asia. Following its tragic demolition in 2022, systematic rescue photography at the Jelutong landfill has exposed the hidden structural anatomy of this monumental, three-tiered pure-granite amphitheater. Forensic analysis of these shattered fragments reveals a highly sophisticated, mortarless engineering system that represents a highly rare, complete architectural application of traditional Chinese timber sunmao joinery into heavy monumental masonry by pairing precision stone-carved mortise-and-tenon geometry with internal, load-bearing iron dowel anchors.