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Article: Digging up history.
- Article from:
- Calliope
- Article date:
- October 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Through the centuries, wind and water swept across the plains bordering the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and caused irreparable damage to the ancient buildings of Mesopotamia. Contributing to their ruin was the fact that the structures had been built of clay bricks.
The construction methods used also contributed to the buildings' destruction. To reduce building costs, only outer walls and courtyards--the areas exposed to the elements--were made of bricks that had been baked in an oven. Cheaper sun-dried bricks were used for the interior. Hence, if the roof, floor, or outer walls of a building deteriorated and the inner structure was exposed to rain and weather, ...