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| Title: | Building materials and techniques in the Eastern Mediterranean from the Hellenistic period to the fourth century AD |
| Authors: | Dodge, Hazel |
| Issue Date: | 1984 |
| Publisher: | Newcastle University |
| Abstract: | This thesis deals primarily with the materials and
techniques found in the Eastern Empire up to the
4th century AD, putting them into their proper historical
and developmental context.
The first chapter examines the development of architecture
in general from the very earliest times until the
beginning of the Roman Empire, with particular attention
to the architecture in Roman Italy. This provides the
background for the study of East Roman architecture in
detail.
Chapter II is a short exposition of the basic engineering
principles and terms upon which to base subsequent
despriptions.
The third chapter is concerned with the main materials
in use in the Eastern Mediterranean - mudbrick, timber,
stone, mortar and mortar rubble, concrete and fired brick.
Each one is discussed with regard to manufacture/quarrying,
general physical properties and building uses. Chapter IV
deals with marble and granite in a similar way but the
main marble types are described individually and
distribution maps are provided for each in Appendix I.
The marble trade and the use of marble in Late Antiquity are
also examined.
Chapter V is concerned with the different methods
pf wall construction and with the associated materials.
There is an enquiry into the use of fired brick and a
comparative study of brick and mortar joint thicknesses in
Rome with relation to those in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Chapter VI looks at all forms of timber construction
including roofing with a discusslon of the wooden roof
truss.
Chapter VII discusses the origins of the arch and
vault, relating pertinent early examples to Roman usage. It
is concluded that the Greeks probably played a large
role in the transmission of the idea of arcuated construction
to the west. The development and use of pitched-brick
vaulting is also traced.
In Chapter VIII the origins of domical construction
are studied with examples from all over the Mediterranean.
The origins of the pendentive are reviewed and a basic
terminology is established in an attempt to end confusion.
Chapter IX deals with epigraphic and literary
evidence for the financial costs of ancient building
including labour, transport and material expenses. Architects
and other skilled workmen are also discussed, and there is
a-study of the instance of re-use of materials in Late
Antiquity and its implications.
Finally Chapter X complements Chapter I in discussing
architecture up to the 7th century AD in both the East and
the West, tracing distinctly Eastern Roman techniques
into the Byzantine period. |
| Description: | PhD Thesis |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/10443/868 |
| Appears in Collections: | School of Historical Studies
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