Sigiriya Lion Gate masonry engineering: brick bonding and massive carved paw foundations?

The Lion Gate terrace halfway up Sigiriya rock represents a masterpiece of 5th-century ancient Sri Lankan masonry. Massive brick and lime-plastered lion paws flank the final staircase ascending to the summit palace. Ancient architects anchored the heavy brick structure directly into leveled granite bedrock shelves using mortise-and-tenon stone foundations and sticky clay-lime mortar. The brickwork employs a header-and-stretcher bond that distributes structural loads evenly while resisting monsoonal wind shears against the rock cliff face.