The main material used in ancient near eastern
buildings was mud. The walls were made of
mud, the floors were made of mud, even the
roofs were made of mud. This is not surprising
for mud is readily available in the alluvial plains
ofMesopotamia: indeed, even the life-giving waters
ofthe great rivers of Mesopotamia in some
seasons consist of liquid mud. Without mud
there would have been no pottery, no clay tablets,
and no Mesopotamian civilization.
Mud is a very versatile building material:
walls can be built up in lumps, a technique
known in Arabic as tau!and normally called pise
in English. The mud can be formed into bricks
either modeled by hand or shaped in a mold.
After they have dried in the sun and become
hard, it is easy to build with them. Mud-bricks
were fired in a kiln to make baked bricks to
be used in drains, in paths, and in other places
where sun-dried mud-bricks would be eroded
Social Institutions
by running water. (Baked bricks are still the most
commonly used building material in the industrialized
world.) Mud also made a strong mortar
and an effective plaster for walls, Boors, and
roofs. In order to build effectively with mud, it
is necessary to temper itso that it does not crack
when it dries. The most common temper was
straw, but a variety of materials were used, inc1uding
other plant material, animal dung, animal
fibers, sand, or grit.
The main material used in ancient near easternbuildings was mud. The walls were made ofmud, the floors were made of mud, even theroofs were made of mud. This is not surprisingfor mud is readily available in the alluvial plainsofMesopotamia: indeed, even the life-giving watersofthe great rivers of Mesopotamia in someseasons consist of liquid mud. Without mudthere would have been no pottery, no clay tablets,and no Mesopotamian civilization.Mud is a very versatile building material:walls can be built up in lumps, a techniqueknown in Arabic as tau!and normally called pisein English. The mud can be formed into brickseither modeled by hand or shaped in a mold.After they have dried in the sun and becomehard, it is easy to build with them. Mud-brickswere fired in a kiln to make baked bricks tobe used in drains, in paths, and in other placeswhere sun-dried mud-bricks would be eroded Social Institutionsby running water. (Baked bricks are still the mostcommonly used building material in the industrializedworld.) Mud also made a strong mortarand an effective plaster for walls, Boors, androofs. In order to build effectively with mud, itis necessary to temper itso that it does not crackwhen it dries. The most common temper wasstraw, but a variety of materials were used, inc1udingother plant material, animal dung, animalfibers, sand, or grit.
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