The historie of the vvorld: commonly called, The naturall historie of C. Plinius Secundus. Translated into English by Philemon Holland Doctor of Physicke. The first [-second] tome

CHAP. XIIII. [unspec B]

¶ Of mudwalls: of Bricke walls, and the order and manner of making them.

WHat shall we say? See we not in Africke and Spaine both, certain walls of earth, which they cal * 1.1 Formacei, of the forme and frame that is made of planks and boords of each side, between which a man may say they are rather infarced & stuffed vp, than otherwise laid and reared orderly; but I assure you, the earth thus infarced, continueth a world of yeres and perisheth not, checking the violence of raine, winde and fire, no mortar and cement so stiffe and strong. There are yet to be seene in diuers parts of Spaine, the watch-towers of Anniball, the high turrets and sconces also reared vpon the tops of hils, made all of earth: and hereof we haue [unspec C] our turfes, which naturally are so proper not only for the rampiers and fortifications of a camp, but also for wharfs, banks, and buttresses, to breake the violence and inundation of riuers. As for the manner of making walls, by dawbing windings and hurdles with mud and clay, also of rearing them otherwhiles with vnbaked bricke; who is so ignorant that he knoweth it not? how∣beit, for to make good brickes, they ought not to be made of any soile that is full of sand and grauell, much lesse then of that which standeth much vpon grit & stones, but of a greyish marle or whitish chalkie clay, or at leastwise a reddish earth: but in case wee bee forced to vse that which is giuen to be sandy, yet we must chuse that kind of sand which is tough and strong. The best season to make these bricks or tyles, is in the spring time; for in the mids of Summer they [unspec D] will cleaue and be full of chinkes; but if you would haue good brickes for building, they ought to be two yeares old at the least. Now the batter or lome that goeth to the making of them, ought to be well steeped and soked in water, before it be fashioned into bricke or tyle. Brickes are made of three sizes: the ordinarie bricke that we vse, is called Didoron, which carrieth in length one foot and a halfe, and in breadth a foot: a second sort is named Tetradoron, i. three foot long: and the third, Pentadoron, of three foot and nine inches in length: for the Greeks in old time, called the span or space of the hand from the thumbe to the little fingers end stretch∣ed out, Doron; which is the reason that gifts and rewards be called in their language, Dora, for that they were presented by the hand. You see therefore, how according to the length that they carrie, either of foure or fiue spans, they haue their denomination of Tetradora, or Pentadora; [unspec E] for the breadth is one and the same in them all, to wit, one foot ouer. Now there beeing this dif∣ference in the size, in Greece the manner is to imploy the smaller sort in their priuat buildings, but the bigger serueth for greater publicke workes. At Pitana in Asia, and in Massia and Ca∣lentum, cities of low Spaine, the bricks that be made, after they are once dried, will not sinke in the water, but flote aloft; for of a spungeous and hollow earth they be made, resembling the na∣ture of the pumish stone, which is very good for this purpose, when it may be wrought. The Greeks haue alwaies preferred the walls of bricke, before any others, vnlesse it be in those places where they had flint at hand to build withall: for surely such brick wals, if they be made plump vpright & wrought by line and leuell, so as they neither hang nor batter, be euerlasting: & ther∣fore such bricks serue for wals of cities and publick works; their roial pallaces likewise be built [unspec F] therewith. After this sort was that part of the wall at Athens laid and reared, which regards the mount Hymettus: so they built also at Patrae, the temples of Iupiter & Hercules, although all the columns, pillars, and architraues round about them, were of ashler stone: thus was the pallace of K. Attalus built at Tralle is; likwise that of K. Croesus at Sardis, which afterward was conuerted

to their Senat-house, named Gerusia: likewise the sumptuous and stately house of king Mauso∣lus [unspec G] at Halicarnassus: which goodly aedifices continue at this day. Wee read in the Chronicles, that Muraena and Varro when they were the high Aediles at Rome, caused the outmost coat which was ouercast of the brick-wals of Lacedaemon, to be cut out whole and entire, and to bee set and enclosed within certaine frames or cases of wood, and so to be translated from thence to Rome, for to adorne and beautifie the publicke hall for elections of Magistrates, called Comi∣tium; and all for the excellent painting vpon that parget. The workmanship therein although it were excellent and wonderfull in it selfe, yet being thus remoued and brought so far safe, it was esteemed more admirable. Moreouer, here within Italy the walls of Aretine and Meuania be made all of bricke: mary at Rome they dare not build their houses with this kind of bricke, because a wall bearing in thicknesse but one foot and an halfe, wil not sustain aboue one * 1.2 single [unspec H] story; for the order of the city permitted not the common wals and those which were outmost, to be thicker than a foot and an halfe: neither wil the partition wals within abide that thicknes, but are made after another sort.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Some reade fornacei, i, ar∣ched walls.
• * 1.2

  For by reason that Romewas so populous, they made many lofts o∣uer head, so that the buil∣ding was rai∣sed to 60 and 70 foot in vp∣right wals 〈◊〉〈◊〉 & these serued as •…•…enements, & were called Coenacula, and one paire of staires leading into the street, serued them all: wheras the lord and ma∣ster of the house kept be∣neath with his houshold, and was not trou∣bled with these ten ants or in-mates.