An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c19.s6.3

v1.c19.s6.3

Usually rectangular, the shape of the brick is varied to suit a particular use. The composition of clay too changes according to the condition of soil of a site, but ever-changing is the size, not only through the ages but also during the same period of a given cultural horizon at different sites. The following brick measurements demonstrate this point: pre-Harappa—30×20×10 cm; Harappa—50 to 25×25 to 12·5×12·5 to 6·35 cm; post-Harappa—33 to 27·9×15·2 to 12·7×12·7 to 8·9 cm; early historical—60 to 20×31·75 to 16×10 to 5 cm; and late historical—60 to 11×28·6×8×12 to 4 cm. [These only exemplify the variety of brick sizes but do not exhaust the innumerable sizes found in excavated buildings.]