Evolution of bricks and brick masonry in the early history of its use in the region of today's Serbia

Abstract

Brick was proved to be one of the main building materials in the region of today's Serbia, especially in the time of late antiquity and in the following medieval time. Hence, the idea was born to make a comparison between the main characteristics of late antique and medieval bricks and brickworks from this region that could confirm the continuity and variety of its use. A question of evolution of the use of bricks was partly based on comparison of their estimated properties and also on comparison of applied building techniques and known characteristics of brick production. It has been confirmed that although it is possible to discuss and confirm the continuity in the use of bricks and adequate building techniques, up-to-date research based on quantitative analysis of historical bricks do not offer enough comparable data regarding their quality. Therefore a new field of possible qualitative research is needed in the future.