Clay brick masonry is one of the oldest and most durable construction techniques used by mankind. Masonry consists of manually built stable stacks of small ele-ments, with or without mortar. It was a fundamental building material in the Meso-potamian, Egyptian and Roman periods. During the Roman period, the use of clay brick increased and became specialized in order to maximize its benefits. Clay brick masonry continued to be used during medieval and modern times. Despite several modifications of the clay brick uses, shape and manufacture along thousands of years of constant evolution, the simplicity that made its success remained. Numerous buildings built with clay bricks prevailed until the 21st century, which testifies to the strength of this material along centuries of rain storms, snow, thaw-freezing cycles, high temperatures and human induced deterioration. Moreover, brick could be easily, inexpensively and rapidly handled and produced with a sim-ple manufacturing process. It is based on fired clay, a raw material available in large quantities all over the Earth. Its wide use proved that clay brick was an effective construction material that could provide both resistance to prevalent climatic condi-tions and insulation from cold and heat. It is known that the properties of ancient clay brick masonry rely essentially on the properties of the brick units, which depend on the quality of the raw materi-als used, together with the manufacturing process technology. The analysis of clay brick production and final properties are therefore fundamental. Generally, it is cru-cial to obtain information on the main physical, chemical and mechanical proper-ties of clay bricks as well as the characteristics of the raw materials used and their manufacturing process.
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