Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER SIX
BRICK EARTH/CLAY CONSTRUCTION
A. General Outline of Development
B. Neolithic Origins
C. Mesopotamian Brick Masonry
D. Egyptian Brick Masonry
E. Roman Brick Masonry
F. Byzantine Brick Masonry
G. Late Iranian Brick Masonry
A.
General Outline of Development
Human inventiveness has been notably successful in manufacturing a great range of
building supplies out of earth. h ese include primary structural materials, e.g. brick;
secondary materials, e.g. mortar; revetments / cladding / teguments, e.g. rooi ng
tiles (designed intrinsically for protection, water prooi ng etc., but inevitably acquir-
ing an ornamental signii cance) as also items entirely of ornamental virtue, e.g.
acroteria etc.; additionally there are important items connected with the auxiliary
services essential to functional buildings (heating, water supply and drainage etc.).
h e gamut of these products of earth and clay—their nature and function—have
been discussed in detail (v Vol. 2, Chap. 4). Accordingly in the present connection
of construction discussion will be limited to structural considerations alone.
h e earth materials concerned are plastic earth (
tauf
/ puddled mud); compressed
earth (
terre pisée
) and brick. However, in fact, the treatment resolves into a discus-
sion of brick construction. Although there are indications that brick construction
evolved from a prior use of plastic earth, and construction in plastic earth survived
strongly into modern times, yet there is little surviving material evidence of plastic
earth construction in the ancient world to justify any detailed discussion of the
subject. Similarly although there is literary evidence of
terre pisée
construction in
Roman times and the use of
terre pisée
has survived strongly into contemporary
building construction, yet there is virtually no reported archaeological evidence of
terre pisée
construction in the ancient world to justify any discussion on this score.
To repeat, the following remarks will deal with ancient brick construction.
Range of
earthen
materials
discussed
on Vol 2
325-327
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