Quantitative analysis of brick-faced masonry: examples from some large imperial buildings in Rome

Abstract

This paper aims to present some preliminary results of an ongoing study which started from the analysis of the external brick facing of the Aurelianic Walls. The methodology employed was to analyse the brick facing by sampling the brick wall surfaces, drawing consistent areas of 1x1 m² in CAD, based on rectified photographs. These samples were then measured in detail to make a quantitative-statistical analysis of the elements constituting the brick facings, in order to yield standard parameters which could meaningfully describe their features. In this first part of the work, we tried to compare some of the most important imperial brick buildings, each with its own characteristic features. Sampling has covered the Aurelianic Walls extensively, focusing on the early periods of Aurelian and Honorius. After were sampled brick-faced walls from a Neronian building facing the Valley of the Colosseum; the substructures of the Baths of Trajan; and some sectors of the Domus Tiberiana, towards the north slope of the Palatine Hill.