DRY STONE WALLS
Dry stone walls are carefully fitted together without any adhesive mortar. Dry stone is one of the oldest construction techniques in the world.
The process is thought to have begun when stones were unearthed by farmers plowing the fields, who would then stack them up around the property to act as a fence. They served to mark the property lines and kept intruders out and livestock in.
Dry Stone Walls are built without mortar, they are both flexible and naturally draining. They can be built on compacted subsoil or a bed of crushed stone. Correctly built walls have an inward tilt, or "batter". That is, the bottom is wider than the top. They have two sides, or "faces" which are built with the stone's length laid into the wall, the center is carefully packed with smaller stones, or "hearting", which helps give the wall it's strength.
"Through stones" which are essentially long stones placed approximately halfway up the wall, spaced at three foot intervals tie both faces together. Joints follow a two-over-one, one over two patterns, which assures each stone fits tight against its neighbor. If these basic principles are followed your wall can actually tighten up and get stronger over time.
The stone I get isn't always the best to build with. This takes both practice and patience. Before I attempt a "new to me" technique for a customer, I'll attempt it on my own using whatever's available.
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This "practice" arch worked out pretty well. It stood for quite a while, until a tractor-trailer backed into it. It twisted a bit, and dropped a few stones, but still stood strong. I dismantled it and moved on to the next project.
A lot of times, you don't need a wall. A rock garden will do just fine.
This stone filled median strip is a case of problem solving. It was built as a walkable solution to mitigate an erosion problem.