It has been suggested thatAdobe bemerged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since November 2025.
New, unlaid mudbricks in theJordan Valley,West BankPalestine, (2011)Mudbrick was used for the construction ofElamiteziggurats—some of the world's largest and oldest constructions.Choqa Zanbil, a 13th-century BCEziggurat inIran, is similarly constructed from clay bricks combined with burnt bricks.[1]
Mudbrick ormud-brick, also known as unfired brick, is an air-driedbrick, made of a mixture ofmud (containingloam,clay,sand andwater) mixed with a binding material such asrice husks orstraw. Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE.
From around 5000–4000 BCE, mudbricks evolved intofired bricks to increase strength and durability. Nevertheless, in some warm regions with very littletimber available to fuel akiln, mudbricks continued to be in use. Even today, mudbricks are the standard ofvernacular architecture in some warmer regions- mainly in parts ofAfrica and westernAsia. In the 20th century, thecompressed earth block was developed using high pressure as a cheap and eco-friendly alternative to obtain non-fired bricks with more strength than the simpler air-dried mudbricks.
Mud-brick stamped with seal impression of raised relief of the Treasury of the Vizier. From Lahun, Fayum, Egypt. 12th Dynasty. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London
The history of mudbrick production and construction in thesouthern Levant may be dated as far back to thePre-Pottery Neolithic A (e.g., PPNA Jericho).[2] These sun dried mudbricks, also known as adobe or just mudbrick, were made from a mixture of sand, clay, water and frequently tempered (e.g. chopped straw and chaff branches), and were the most common method/material for constructing earthen buildings throughout the ancient Near East for millennia.[2][3][4] Unfired mud-brick is still made throughout the world, using both modern and traditional methods.[5][6]
The 9000 BCE dwellings ofJericho were constructed from mudbricks,[7] affixed with mud, as were those at numerous sites across theLevant over the following millennia. Well-preserved mudbricks from a site atTel Tsaf, in the Jordan Valley, have been dated to 5200 BCE,[8] though there is no evidence that either site was the first to use the technology. Evidence suggests that the mudbrick composition at Tel Tsaf was stable for at least 500 years, throughout the middleChalcolithic period.[2]
TheSouth Asian inhabitants ofMehrgarh constructed and lived in mud-brick houses between 7000–3300 BCE.[9] Mud bricks were used at more than 15 reported sites attributed to the 3rd millennium BCE in the ancientIndus Valley civilization. In theMature Harappan phase fired bricks were used.[10]
TheMesopotamians used sun-dried bricks in their city construction;[11] typically these bricks were flat on the bottom and curved on the top, called plano-convex mud bricks. Some were formed in a square mould and rounded so that the middle was thicker than the ends. Some walls had a few courses of fired bricks from their bases up to the splash line to extend the life of the building.
Sun dried mudbrick was the most common construction material employed inancient Egypt during pharaonic times and were made in pretty much the same way for millennia. Mud from some locations required sand, chopped straw or other binders such as animal dung to be mixed in with the mud to increase durability and plasticity.[4] Workers gathered mud from the Nile river and poured it into a pit. Workers then tramped on the mud while straw was added to solidify the mold.[citation needed] The mudbricks were chemically suitable asfertilizer, leading to the destruction of many ancient Egyptian ruins, such as atEdfu. A well-preserved site isAmarna.[13] Mudbrick use increased at the time ofRoman influence.[14]
In theAncient Greek world, mudbrick was commonly used for the building of walls, fortifications and citadels, such as the walls of the Citadel ofTroy (Troy II).[15] These mudbricks were often made with straw or dried vegetable matter.[16]
In areas of Spanish influence, mud-brick construction is calledadobe, and developed over time into a complete system of wall protection, flat roofing and finishes which in modern English usage is often referred to asadobe style, regardless of the construction method.
TheGreat Mosque of Djenné, in centralMali, is the world's largest mudbrick structure. It, like much ofSahelian architecture, is built with a mudbrick calledBanco,[17] a recipe of mud andgrain husks, fermented, and either formed into bricks or applied on surfaces as aplaster like paste in broad strokes. This plaster must be reapplied annually.[18]
^Roman Ghirshman, La ziggourat de Tchoga-Zanbil (Susiane), Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, vol. 98 lien Issue 2, pp. 233–238, 1954
^Hasel, Michael G. (2019)."Architecture". In Freedman, David Noel (ed.).Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. pp. 246–247?.ISBN978-1-4674-6046-0.Archived from the original on 2023-09-24. Retrieved2023-03-23.
^abMorgenstein, Maury E.; Redmount, Carol A. (1998). "Mudbrick Typology, Sources, and Sedimentological Composition: A Case Study from Tell el-Muqdam, Egyptian Delta".Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt.35:129–146.doi:10.2307/40000466.ISSN0065-9991.JSTOR40000466.
^Mogens Herman Hansen,A Comparative Study of Six City-state Cultures, Københavns universitet Polis centret (2002) Videnskabernes Selskab, 144 pagesISBN87-7876-316-9
^Kathryn A. Bard and Steven Blake Shubert, eds.,Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, 1999, Routledge, 938 pagesISBN0-415-18589-0
^Neer, Richard. T.,Art & archaeology of the Greek world: a new history, c. 2500-c.150 BCE, Second edition, Thames and Hudson, London, 2019, pp.23
^Birge, Darice Elizabeth; Miller, Stephen Gaylord; Kraynak, Lynn Harriett; Miller, S. G. (1992–2018).Excavations at Nemea. University of California Press. p. 113n345.ISBN978-0-520-07027-1.Archived from the original on 2023-06-30. Retrieved2023-03-23.Adding straw or dried vegetable matter to the clay of mudbricks was a common practice
Earth Architecture, website whose focus is contemporary issues in earth architecture.
EARTHA:Earth Architecture and Conservation in East Anglia, British organisation that focuses on the proper maintenance and conservation of earth buildings in a region of the UK that has a long history of building with mud. Very experienced experts are contactable and there are regular demonstrations in the area.
