Archaeologically documented building materials and techniques used for civil and religious monuments in Wallachia, XVI - XVII centuries
Year: 2000
Type: article
Abstract: The analysis of building materials and techniques is important for at least two reasons.In the first place, any information of this kind contributes to a more precise dating of the different construction phases, when the other archaeological documents are uncertain.In the second place, the main purpose for the archaeological and architectural investigations is the obtaining of an as close as possible to reality picture.Thus, the information related to the presented topic help to the reconstitution of the monuments' initial architecture, an argument of uppermost importance to a historical restoration.The subject regarding the building materials and techniques has been studied especially in the Architecture History treaties, by direct observations made by architects during restoration works.This subject was studied for the first time by Nicolae Ghika -Budeşti 1 , who observed the correlation between the existing building materials from an area and the builder's technical means.Ghika-Budesti 2 , Grigore Ionescu 3 , Cristian Moisescu 4 agreed on the building methods, of Byzantine origin, combined with the creativity and imagination of the local craftsmen.Ghika-Budesti 5 and Horia Teodoru 6 mentioned the building technique of Byzantine origin, of the "wood pullers", widespread in the Romanian architecture 7 , this method being largely archeologically documented. I. Building materialsThe archaeological investigations have discovered, by their specific features, the building materials used by the medieval craftsmen.In the following pages we shall count the building materials used in the Wallachian medieval architecture, presenting also their chronological evolution. I.a. The bricksThe main building material used in the XVI -XVII centuries was the brick, the only prefabricated element in the old Romanian architecture 8 .The bricks were made in the previous year to the yard opening, as the brick craftsmen needed to know the quantity to manufacture, as well as the requested formats and dimensions, according to the customer's order 9 .
Source: Cercetări Arheologice
DOI: 10.46535/ca.11.22
Author: Dana Mihai
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W3036136088