Making Mudbricks —

At ancient Tel-Rehov in the Egyptian Nile Delta area, archaeologists set about to preserve an archaeological site by creating their own mud bricks to build support walls. The project was carried out in 2013, and served to not only preserve a site, but also to test out just how the ancient process would have gone. and the workers died their mudbricks red so that they could be easily distinguished from their ancient counterparts. Using known ancient methods, and scientific analysis of existing mudbricks at the site, the ancient process was mapped out.

First, topsoil was collected and mixed with water to create mud. Second, straw was added to the mud as temper and mixed in by foot. Straw chaff is what specifically would have been used. Procured either from threshing floors after the wheat harvest, or collected from fields, either way the straw would have been chopped into small pieces before adding to the mud. It gives the bricks an underlying structure that has been proven to create stronger, longer lasting bricks. Third, the mud mixture received a good daily mixing by foot for several days and then left for a couple of days to ferment. Fourth, the mud was then pressed into moulds of the desired sizes and laid out on a floor dusted with an anti-sticking agent like sand, dirt or more chaff. After a week of drying in the sun, the bricks are ready to use. In construction, mudbricks would be held together with mortar, and often the finished walls would be plastered over to create a seal of protection against the elements.

Now, just like today, exact production of mudbricks could vary from region to region, and their drying could be accelerated by baking in a kiln.