History of Construction Technology: 12 Key Periods

Construction Technology of Mesopotamia

The Mesopotamian civilization dates back to approximately 6000 BC. As one of the first Bronze Age cultures, this civilization was also the first to develop a written alphabet and use mathematics. Near 3000 BC, Mesopotamians were building temples and dwellings and decorating them with geometric mosaics. The Babylonians were remarkable in their ability to understand and manage numbers. In addition to their great contribution to developing the concept of numeration, they developed approximation algorithms. The use of mathematics for building projects appears to have been a matter of practical necessity for the Mesopotamians, though the legacy they passed on to the development of technology is incalculable (Boyer).

The Mesopotamians' primary building material was the mud brick, employed in creating both dwellings and temples. Both the climate and the natural resources determined building styles and materials, and the mud brick industry flourished to supply society's building needs. They developed arches, columns, and domes using mud brick construction. In an area where wood was not readily available, the mud brick was a natural choice, especially as demand grew within one of the first Bronze Age civilizations (Darby).

The introduction of agriculture led people to build and rebuild their mud brick dwellings in order to remain in one place. This shift fostered the development of towns and cities, laws and government, and civic projects. Building technology became an area of progressive knowledge, leading to enhancements in mud brick construction. A technique known as Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil enhanced and further established the foundation for lasting construction projects (Brown). Geosynthetics refers to adding or layering reinforcement to the soil in order to stabilize it. In the case of the Mesopotamians, they used bitumen as the reinforcing agent (International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group). Bitumen is a naturally occurring organic substance, often referred to as tar, with a history of use dating back thousands of years. When the first permanent settlers inhabited the Tigris-Euphrates region, they built their dwellings from marsh reeds bound together and layered on the outside with mud plaster. This later evolved into making sun-dried mud bricks (Bilkadi).

The development of the mud brick industry led to advances in reinforcement geosynthetics. Straw and bitumen were added to the clay, and bricks changed from a commonly used loaf shape to a plano-convex shape (flat on one side, convex on the other). Plano-convex bricks were baked in kilns, and bitumen was also used as an adhesive and waterproofing agent in the layering of bricks (Moorey). The development of brick-building technology, combined with the rise of a written alphabet and numeration, and the consequent growth of the city-state and demand for construction projects, places ancient Mesopotamia as a stronghold of useful, enduring construction technology with a legacy that continues to influence modern construction (Bilkadi).

One of the most notable achievements of Mesopotamian civilization in construction technology was the building of the Ziggurats. Thirty-two Ziggurats exist in the Mesopotamian region. They were built for local religious purposes and constructed in a step-pyramid fashion using mud brick technology (Kostof). The greatest example of its kind is the Ziggurat of Ur, constructed during the Ur III Dynasty. Built of mud brick, it stands as a monument to the technological achievements of its era. Finally, it should be noted that Mesopotamia was among the first Bronze Age civilizations and therefore developed smelting to extract ore from the earth. While the development of bronze tools was a natural consequence of this process, the impact on existing building technology at that early stage was limited. Nonetheless, the development of metal tools would herald a new age in construction technology (Stone).

Mesopotamian civilization was notable for inventing many things that would have a profound impact on the rest of the civilized world. In addition to advances in building technology, Mesopotamians invented the wheel, the first alphabet, the Pythagorean theorem, glass, the arch, the column and dome, sails for harnessing wind energy, and writing, among other key innovations. The development of the wheel would revolutionize transportation, which in turn would significantly impact the development of construction technology by spurring the rise of culture and civilization (Darby) (P. Moorey).

The Ancient Egyptians made many contributions to building technology and technology in general. Rulers and religion played important roles in the development and creation of building projects. Statues were a favored commodity of the ruling class, bearing the likeness of the reigning ruler. Funerary monuments were also in great demand, supporting a thriving class of craftsmen. Deities played a large role in defining the relationship between the human and the divine, with the characteristics of particular deities being ascribed to certain working and ruling classes, such as craftsmen and engineers (What is Civil Engineering).

The historical record regarding ancient Egyptian engineering and construction technology is sparse, and the primary means by which data has been gathered is through experimental archaeology. Even so, this field has left unanswered questions about how stone masonry was executed and how the large stones were actually moved. Further questions remain regarding how astrology was used to align stones. The development of surveying tools by the Egyptians enabled the precise alignment and placement of stonework (Shaw).

Construction Technology of Ancient Egypt

Egyptian surveyors achieved incredible feats of engineering with their instruments, from the construction of canals to the building of pyramids and other large-scale structures. Surveying tools employed included plumb bobs, leveling instruments, measuring ropes, and sighting instruments. For short-distance measurement, two main tools were used: the water level and the A-frame level with a plumb bob suspended from the apex. Egyptians understood the properties of the isosceles triangle and used this concept to cut, chisel, set, and mortar square stones into place. The high level of masonry craftsmanship enabled by these leveling tools produced some of the world's most enduring building achievements (Root) (Patel).

One very notable contribution in terms of large-scale and enduring construction technology is the development of the ramp. Regarding pyramid building, archaeologists generally agree that a system of ramps was likely used to move the millions of stone blocks into position. At least five different types of ramps have been proposed (Heizer).

The most direct method was the linear ramp, probably used in the Third-Dynasty pyramid of Sekhemkhet at Saqqara. However, such ramps were likely rarely used because they would have had to be very wide. A staircase ramp — a steep and narrow set of steps leading up one face of the pyramid — may have been an alternative; traces of such ramps have been found at the Sinki, Meidum, Giza, Abu Ghurob, and Lisht pyramids (Shaw) (Heizer).

The "spiral ramp," mentioned in the Nineteenth-Dynasty Papyrus Anastasi I, is another variation, though how it would have been supported and how measurements and revisions could have been made while the pyramid was under construction remains an open question. The "reversing ramp" follows a zigzag course up one face of a pyramid, though it was likely not used for step pyramids. "Interior ramps" have been discovered inside the remains of the pyramids of Sahura, Nyuserra, and Neferirkara at Abusir, and of Pepi II at Saqqara (Heizer) (Shaw).

From stonework to surveying to the relationship between religion and civic works, the ancient Egyptians employed advanced tools to develop their construction technology. The ramp, in particular, allowed the construction of large-scale projects that endure to the modern day.

The development of the crane, the winch and pulley, the watermill, the wheelbarrow, and the odometer all had enormous impacts on the progression of construction technology in ancient Greece.

The crane for raising massive loads was invented by the Ancient Greeks in the late sixth century BC. The archaeological record indicates that no later than approximately 515 BC, distinctive cuttings for both lifting tongs and lewis irons began to appear on stone blocks of Greek temples. Evidence for the existence of the crane comes from examination of these peculiar holes, which archaeologists regard as proof of the use of a lifting mechanism. The introduction of the winch and pulley hoist soon led to a widespread replacement of ramps as the primary means of vertical transport. Stone size also decreased as construction technology advanced.

Construction Technology of Ancient Greece

The shift from ramps to cranes is explained by changes in the labor force, where small teams of skilled workers were preferred over large groups of unskilled laborers. A tool like the crane enabled this, as fewer people could accomplish the same amount of lifting (Coulton) (Landels).

Like many innovations in technology, the winch and pulley system may have originated from military needs (Coulton). The development of the catapult and ballista in ancient Greek warfare has its roots in a weapon called the gastraphetes, which operated on a winch and pulley system (Marsden). The winch and pulley were not only pivotal in building design but also in the construction of civic works such as canals, government buildings, and temples.

The watermill was a device invented by the ancient Greeks that used a water wheel or turbine to power a mechanical process — essentially the first harnessed use of hydropower, a technology widely used today (Wilson). Used for everything from grinding wheat to powering sawmills, the watermill was likely of enormous benefit to ancient Greek construction technology.

The history of Roman construction technology is conveyed through written descriptions, reliefs, and mosaics. Notable elements of Roman construction included ropes, pulleys and winches, wheels, mills, and metal use in equipment. Much that was occurring in earlier and contemporary periods was also being employed and refined in Roman construction. Additionally, a wide variety of materials was utilized (MiriamMilani Antiquities of Ancient Rome).

The Romans used a broad range of materials, from chalk and sand to pozzolanic concrete. Rubble and broken pottery were mixed with mortar to fill wall segments. Pumice was mixed with concrete to create a lighter facing and to increase the aesthetic value of the work. Their expertise with such a variety of materials was partly facilitated by the breadth of the empire. This expertise enabled a considerable leap in construction and architecture. Economics also played a fundamental role, as the Romans tended to use locally available materials to minimize transport costs. Importation was limited to materials that were strictly necessary or of high luxury value. Chief among the materials used were stone, wood, ceramics, terracotta, and, to a lesser degree, metal (MacDonald).

Construction Technologies of the Roman Empire

Stone was clearly an important construction material, and the Romans were expert quarriers who used different types of stone for different applications. Marble was used to decorate surfaces; lime and sandstone were used for pedestrian areas subject to low wear (Moropoulou, Bakolas, and Anagnostopoulou). Basaltic lava and granites were employed where great stress resistance was required. These materials differed not only in their brittleness and durability but also in their porosity and weight (Sharma, Casanova, and Wache).

As Roman territorial expansion evolved, access to new and unique local materials grew as well. The flow of goods and knowledge across geographic regions was of great importance to the advancement of building and construction technology (Robinson).

The Romans were also highly skilled in working with various types of wood. The architect Vitruvius wrote at length about how to process trees for use in building (Hughes and Thirgood). As in earlier periods, military demands drove further advancement in construction technology, and knowledge of materials allowed machinery to withstand the extreme stresses of military application (Wilson).

The use of terracotta and ceramics allowed great freedom across a wide range of construction applications, including roof tiling, waterproofing of pools, making vessels for carrying and storing materials, and most importantly, the manufacture of bricks and pipes. Ceramics were even used to substitute for wood in the construction of arched trusses (Degryse, Elsens, and Waelkens).

Brick technology was a notable advancement in Roman building techniques. The construction of the large furnaces necessary to support this industry was only possible in a developed economy such as existed under Roman rule (Bowen). The breadth of the Roman Empire also facilitated access to a wide market of resources, including metal.

Metal was utilized throughout the Empire according to need and material characteristics, finding use in statuary, joinery, weaponry, trusses, piping, and tool making (Gilfillan).

Ropes were made in a variety of styles depending on their intended use. They could be made elastic, effectively functioning as energy-storing springs. The catapult is a prime example, where tensile force was created in coiled ropes (Heizer) (Marsden). Pulleys were widely used to redirect force upward or downward. The most common methods of applying force involved various types of winches mounted horizontally or vertically. The practical combination of ropes, pulleys, wooden structures, and winches allowed the Romans to produce the varied construction machinery required for different project needs. Metal was reserved for specialized situations (Heizer).

Some machinery was massive in scale, capable of performing functions comparable to modern construction equipment. However, machinery for moving operations was limited. With no engines available, large stone sections were transported over great distances using teams of oxen, ramps, and slave labor (Heizer).

The construction methods of early Rome are simpler and less indicative of the massive building projects of the later period. The earliest buildings of Rome, constructed around the Palatine and Esquiline hills in the ninth century BC, were far more basic — built of organic materials such as wood and earth on packed ground. As a result, little survives in the historical record, and one must rely on interpolation from the evolution of earlier civilizations and contemporary accounts (MacDonald).