| Popis: |
Brick masonry construction was an unsurprising choice for the late antique city of Ravenna. The abundance of quality clay found throughout the Po Valley delta not only created the perfect environment for the manufacture of terracotta building materials such as bricks, roof tiles, and vaulting tubes, but also a scarcity in locally viable stone outcrops suitable for building. While there is thorough evidence of widespread brick reuse in Ravenna during the 5th and 6th centuries, new archaeological evidence has revealed that brick production continued in the region during this period, similar to ceramic industries. By applying these new findings with reverse quantity surveying and architectural energetic (labour rate analysis) of major infrastructural projects of the late antique city, this paper aims to provide a cleared perspective of the economies of construction in Ravenna during such a pivotal point in its history. From reclaiming versus producing bricks to the production of copious quantities of mortar, the organisation of Ravenna’s building boom would have been fraught with challenges. The reliance on local and regional raw material resources and manufacturing industries helped transform Ravenna from a deteriorating former naval base into the formidable administrative capital of the Western Roman Empire |
