The ancient world has always aroused great interest in modern man precisely because of its remoteness in time. People who are not experienced in architecture and construction still do not understand exactly how houses are built, and they are afraid to even think about how they built in the ancient world, having neither modern technology nor advanced materials for construction. Meanwhile, many structures, which are several thousand years old, have survived to this day.
Ancient Egypt
A feature of the architecture of Ancient Egypt is that at a time when other peoples were still at the prehistoric stage, the Egyptians already possessed a highly developed art, including architecture.
Another important feature is the absence of forests on the territory of Ancient Egypt. For this reason, the houses were built from adobe brick and stone (mainly from limestone, sandstone and granite mined in the Nile Valley).
But all this concerned only palaces and tombs, but ordinary houses were built from ordinary Nile mud, which, drying in the sun, became suitable for construction.
But, of course, when talking about construction in Ancient Egypt, people are usually interested in the technology of building the pyramids. The question of how exactly the ancient Egyptians managed to build such grandiose buildings in the absence of technology still occupies the minds of historians. There are several main versions on this score.
Many historians agree that huge blocks for construction were cut down in quarries using copper tools - chisels, chisels, adzes. The blocks then had to be delivered to the construction site, and how exactly this happened is fiercely debated by historians.
The most common version is that the blocks were simply dragged by placing them on platforms with rollers. For this, special brick roads were built. The disadvantage of this version is that blocks weighing up to 300 tons, found in the pyramids, cannot be carried away even by a huge number of people.
Not only the delivery of blocks, but also their lifting to a great height, as well as the composition of the bonding solution, raises no less questions.
Many books and documentaries have been written about the construction technologies of the Egyptian pyramids, but no one has been able to find an unequivocal answer.
Ancient Greece
The ancient Greeks were much more fortunate in terms of geographical position than the Egyptians - vast forests allowed them to greatly diversify their buildings, they made ceilings and beams, roofing, and in the early stages even traditional columns from wood.
The Greeks built rich houses, temples and palaces from stones of different breeds. For example, Pentelian marble was used for the construction of the Acropolis.
The construction technology of simple residential buildings did not differ much from the Egyptian - they were built from bricks, but the Greeks began to use more durable fired bricks. The walls, built of bricks, were often tiled.
When erecting stone structures, the Greeks did not use bonding mortars, they used the dry method of masonry, fastening the buildings with metal staples to protect them from earthquakes, wooden veneers and spikes. All decorative elements were made after the main construction works, only tiles and tiles were made in advance. Refinement, bringing the structure to perfection was carried out from top to bottom, as the scaffolding and scaffolding were disassembled.
Ancient Russia
The territory of Russia has always been rich in forests, so wood has become the main building material. Much later, houses began to be built of stone, so two concepts were born - "Wooden Rus" and "Stone Rus".
Stone construction in Russia began only in the 10th century and at first referred only to churches.
Residential buildings were log cabins. A log house is a wooden house built from logs held together at the corners. Log house - because the logs were only chopped with an ax. Saws in Russia began to be used only from the 10th century and only for interior decoration. This is because the saw tears the wood fibers, opening the way for moisture and decay. The log house was sometimes placed on a stone foundation made of boulders. The logs were fastened to each other in different ways, but the strongest way of fastening was the fastening "in a flash" - when the ends of the logs slightly extend beyond the walls.
Stone construction of churches and temples began in the 10th century. The architecture of Ancient Russia is very original, although it bears some features of the Byzantine tradition. The main features of stone construction in Russia have always been integration into the landscape and construction on elevations and open places so that they could serve as landmarks, beacons for travelers.
