JP Humanities 6 November 8 2012

Mesopotamia Building Project Report

I researched a Mesopotamian mud and brick house. They were very common in the main cities. Most of the citizens lived in them. They were also easy to build and the supplies were easy to get. All you needed to make the walls were mud, and the roof was only made of wood, grass and mud. Mud brick houses were used in all cities in Mesopotamia. Most of the houses were around an area of 20 square feet. Often these houses were shared with other family members, so there was not a lot space for taking time to do something inside. Anyway most of the people living in the house spent most of their time outside anyway. These houses are unfortunately able to disintegrate easily. All of the earliest houses disintegrated to dust hundreds of years ago so people cant really get information about them too easily. The reason why the mud brick houses had flat roofs was because the top is good for drying bricks and keeping some personal things there. Since there was almost no rain, they didnt need a roof that was pointed or rounded. A good thing about the flat roof was it would have not used as much mud as the other ones would have had. The brick house was made by stacking mud bricks on top of the wall until it was high enough to be used. Then the builders would put a big piece of wood like a beam on top of the bricks. After that you would line up sticks along the end mud bricks and the piece of wood in the center. Once that task is finished they would cover all the sticks with a thick layer of grass and then covers the grass in an extra thick layer of mud. The top of the house was used for drying mud bricks and storing items. Also, the top of the roof could be made into a second layer with a roof on it that could be used for sleeping. I think whoever invented the mud brick was very smart; it was used in almost all the buildings in Mesopotamia. The mud bricks also last quite a long time. Some of the ziggurats are still standing and they were made from mud bricks. The way they build the houses were smart; it was a good idea for them to make a flat roof for drying and storing things. I am happy I chose to do the mud and brick house. Sources Martel,Hazel,et al.Illistrated History of the World.New York: King fisher,1993.Print