Naturally the use of brick originated where clay, of which they
are made, was abundant; and there is every reason to believe
that the brick industry had its beginning in the broad alluvial
valley of the Euphrates which is the traditional cradle of human
civilization. At any rate, according to one authority, good
brick have been taken from excavations in old Babylonia, dating
back to 4,500 B. C, as good as the day they were made. And the
same authority adds that brickmaking was doubtless practiced ten
thousand years ago. It was Nature that gave the hint, for the
sun hardened the mud along the river bank and cracked it into
irregular pieces which the native could utilize, after shaping
them to the desired size, for piling up in the walls of his crude
hut. It was an easy step in advance to shape the mud beforehand
while soft and lay it out in the sun to bake. This produced
what we call adobe brick, afterwards greatly improved by mixing
chopped reeds or straw with the soft mud before baking. It will
be remembered how the Egyptian Pharaoh embittered the slavery of
the children of Israel by compelling them to find their own straw
for the brick they were required to make. At a very early date
the dwellers in the Euphrates valley learned to burn brick, as
indicated by the biblical story of the Tower of Babel; and by the
time of Nebuchadnezzar, the great Babylonian king (604-562 B. C),
not only were well-burned brick made and used extensively, but
colored enamels were successfully applied for decorative effects.
Considerable remains of this ancient brickwork are still found,
although for many centuries the ruined cities of the Mesopotamian
plain were used as sources of building material for the more modern
cities which have since come into being.