Ancient Roman Bricks

It has long since been said Rome was not built in a day, and in many instance Rome was built with ancient Roman bricks. This is true. However, it was built brick by brick. And when you look at the amazing Roman architecture and structures that have survived for many hundreds of years, you realize that the bricks that were used certainly are durable. This does raise questions regarding how the bricks were made. The process can prove quite enlightening when you look at the historical studies as to how classical Roman bricks were produced.

The way the bricks were made was through heating clay into bricks of a variety of sizes. Different sizes were produced in order to accommodate the engineering plans required to build different structures. The shapes of these bricks were also quite varied. Squares, rectangles, triangles, round, and even oblong shapes were employed. The expansiveness of the shapes was easy to develop. The clay would be shaped while it was soft and then heated to solidify the shape. Of course, there were limitations to the types of shapes which could be effectively used for building. Shapes were not selected just because they looked a certain way. The shapes needed to be structurally sound. Considering the fact that many Roman structures still stand after many centuries, the structural soundness of the bricks is above any questioning.

It could be said that a stamp of approval was placed on the bricks. This stamp came in the form of the seal of the legion responsible for the oversight of the brick making. This enhanced the quality of the brick construction since the legion would personally attest to its value.

In some ways, it is not accurate to call Roman bricks...Roman. As the Roman Empire spread, its indigenous form of brick making spread as well. In time, the Roman method of making bricks was integrated into many different civilizations even after the empire fell.