Amiens Cathedral, nave, base of main arcade pier (pilier cantonné)

The cylindrical body of the pier and the four flanking colonnettes sit atop a complex molding and a polygonal plinth. The molding has an upper rim or torus, a deep concavity or scotia and a lower rim. Often termed an "attic molding" it remembers precedents first established in the ancient Greek architecture of Athens (Attica), especially the Erechteum. Below the molding is a double-level plinth: each of the cylindrical forms of the pier is sustained by an octagonal form at pavement level.
The diagram shows an arcade pier aligned with the great compound pier of the crossing. The thickness of the arcade (4 feet) is shown by the broken lines