Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
ground, brick built chamber with barrel vaulted rooi ng, entered by steps descend-
ing from ground level. h is tomb type follows an old Mesopotamian tradition well
known from Andrae's excavations at Assur, which revealed at the one site both
Assyrian and Parthian tombs conforming to the same type. h e brick vaulting of
these tombs is ef ected in several dif erent manners so far as the published draw-
ings indicate. Square bricks set radially on their beds, square bricks set upright on
edge (side) in successive discrete arches—whether vertical or canted backwards
is not always made clear (v A. Haller,
Gräber und Grüt e von Assur
, Berlin, 1954;
W. Andrae,
Die Partherstadt Assur
, Berlin, 1933). In this connection an illustrative
Parthian grave is one published from a cemetery at Ctesiphon (v S.R. Hauser in
BM 24, 1993, pp. 325). h e cemetery was excavated ca 1930 by a German Expe-
dition and the original drawing of the grave shows the brickwork of the vault in
dei nitive detail. h e barrel vault with a span of ca 2.40m and a rise of 1.20m was
divided into a lower (shoulder) half and an upper (crown) half, each with a rise of ca
60 cms. h e l at square bricks (ca 30 cms × 30 cms) were set radially on their beds
in the shoulder zone, (thus continuing the brick setting of the wall to give a total
rise from the l oor level of ca 1.20m-1.25m); thereabove in the crown zone the
blocks were set on their edge as pitched brick vaulting. h is pitched brick vault-
ing, however, has an unusual constructional detail. h e pitched bricks are inclined
not backwards against the rear wall, but against the front wall. Also they do not
extend from front to rear of the chamber, but at both front and rear the radial
vaulting of the lower zone is carried up to the crown thus forming two complete
arches (ca 40 cms deep) between which is inserted the pitched brickwork. All this
betokens great experience and mastery of brick vaulting practice.
Two conveniently published graves from Assur provide further information on
Parthian vault construction (v Andrae,
Die Partherstadt
, Taf. 50). Vault 13971 is
of traditional long house plan. h e unusual low pointed vault is half destroyed. It
is constructed of bricks set radially on their beds in the lower part, but could have
had bricks set on edge at the crown. Vault 13972 is of broad room plan. Again
the vault is half destroyed. It is a semi circular barrel vault and the bricks appear
to be set on edge, but vertically not pitched.
h is distinction in the manner of setting square bricks between the haunches
and the crown of barrel vaults goes back to the old Mesopotamian tradition. It
was in the interest (or supposed interest) of avoiding the necessity for centering.
In the lower zone of the vaults bricks set radially on their beds are not at sui cient
inclination to require support during construction. h us pitching was reserved for
the crown of the vaults where bricks set on beds would require centering.
h ere is little direct record of brick rooi ng in free standing Parthian building.
What exists is coni ned to barrel vaults. Detail drawings of the brick rooi ng to
the Palace at Assur are published by Reuther in his account of Parthian Archi-
Parthian
brick
vaulting
353
389
390A
390B
388
