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Toghrol Tower

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Toghrol Tower ( Persian : برج طغرل‌) also transliterated Toghrul , Tughrol , or Tughrul ) is a 12th-century monument, located in the city of Rey , Tehran province , Iran . Tuğrul Tower is near Rashkan Castle .

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59-446: The 20-metre-tall (66 ft) brick tower is the tomb of Seljuk ruler Tughril , who died in Rey in 1063. Originally, like other monuments of its time, it was capped by a conical dome (گنبد, gonbad ), which collapsed during an earthquake. The thickness of the walls varies from 1.75 to 2.75 meters. The inner and outer diameters are 11 and 16 meters, respectively. The exterior shape

118-449: A brick roughly 42 cm long, 20 cm wide, and 10 cm thick), smoothing the surfaces with a wire-strung bow, removing them from the frames, printing the fronts and backs with stamps that indicated where the bricks came from and who made them, loading the kilns with fuel (likelier wood than coal), stacking the bricks in the kiln, removing them to cool while the kilns were still hot, and bundling them into pallets for transportation. It

177-451: A complete system of wall protection, flat roofing and finishes which in modern English usage is often referred to as adobe style , regardless of the construction method. The Great Mosque of Djenné , in central Mali , is the world's largest mudbrick structure. It, like much of Sahelian architecture, is built with a mudbrick called Banco , a recipe of mud and grain husks, fermented, and either formed into bricks or applied on surfaces as

236-972: A dry, small aggregate concrete which is formed in steel moulds by vibration and compaction in either an "egglayer" or static machine. The finished blocks are cured, rather than fired, using low-pressure steam. Concrete bricks and blocks are manufactured in a wide range of shapes, sizes and face treatments – a number of which simulate the appearance of clay bricks. Concrete bricks are available in many colours and as an engineering brick made with sulfate-resisting Portland cement or equivalent. When made with adequate amount of cement they are suitable for harsh environments such as wet conditions and retaining walls. They are made to standards BS 6073, EN 771-3 or ASTM C55. Concrete bricks contract or shrink so they need movement joints every 5 to 6 metres, but are similar to other bricks of similar density in thermal and sound resistance and fire resistance. Compressed earth blocks are made mostly from slightly moistened local soils compressed with

295-518: A few courses of fired bricks from their bases up to the splash line to extend the life of the building. In Minoan Crete , at the Knossos site, there is archaeological evidence that sun-dried bricks were used in the Neolithic period (prior to 3400 BCE). Sun dried mudbrick was the most common construction material employed in ancient Egypt during pharaonic times and were made in pretty much

354-443: A history older than fired bricks, and have an additional ingredient of a mechanical binder such as straw. Bricks are laid in courses and numerous patterns known as bonds , collectively known as brickwork , and may be laid in various kinds of mortar to hold the bricks together to make a durable structure. The earliest bricks were dried mudbricks , meaning that they were formed from clay-bearing earth or mud and dried (usually in

413-457: A kiln which makes them durable. Modern, fired, clay bricks are formed in one of three processes – soft mud, dry press, or extruded. Depending on the country, either the extruded or soft mud method is the most common, since they are the most economical. Clay and shale are the raw ingredients in the recipe for a fired brick. They are the product of thousands of years of decomposition and erosion of rocks, such as pegmatite and granite , leading to

472-424: A material that has properties of being highly chemically stable and inert. Within the clays and shales are the materials of aluminosilicate (pure clay ), free silica ( quartz ), and decomposed rock. One proposed optimal mix is: Three main methods are used for shaping the raw materials into bricks to be fired: In many modern brickworks , bricks are usually fired in a continuously fired tunnel kiln , in which

531-401: A mechanical hydraulic press or manual lever press. A small amount of a cement binder may be added, resulting in a stabilised compressed earth block . There are thousands of types of bricks that are named for their use, size, forming method, origin, quality, texture, and/or materials. Categorized by manufacture method: Mudbrick Mudbrick or mud-brick , also known as unfired brick,

590-483: A relatively low embodied energy and carbon footprint . The ingredients are first harvested and added together, with clay content ranging from 30% to 70%. The mixture is broken up with hoes or adzes , and stirred with water to form a homogenous blend. Next, the tempers and binding agents are added in a ratio, roughly one part straw to five parts earth to reduce weight and reinforce the brick by helping reduce shrinkage. However, additional clay could be added to reduce

649-533: Is Amarna . Mudbrick use increased at the time of Roman influence. In the Ancient Greek world, mudbrick was commonly used for the building of walls, fortifications and citadels, such as the walls of the Citadel of Troy (Troy II). These mudbricks were often made with straw or dried vegetable matter. In areas of Spanish influence, mud-brick construction is called adobe , and developed over time into

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708-441: Is a similar term referring to a rectangular building unit composed of clay or concrete, but is usually larger than a brick. Lightweight bricks (also called lightweight blocks) are made from expanded clay aggregate . Fired bricks are one of the longest-lasting and strongest building materials , sometimes referred to as artificial stone, and have been used since c.  4000 BC . Air-dried bricks, also known as mudbricks , have

767-460: Is an air-dried brick , made of a mixture of mud (containing loam , clay , sand and water ) mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw . Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE. From around 5000–4000 BCE, mudbricks evolved into fired bricks to increase strength and durability. Nevertheless, in some warm regions with very little timber available to fuel a kiln , mudbricks continued to be in use. Even today, mudbricks are

826-935: Is common in Sweden as well as Russia and other post-Soviet countries, especially in houses built or renovated in the 1970s. A version known as fly ash bricks , manufactured using fly ash , lime, and gypsum (known as the FaL-G process) are common in South Asia. Calcium-silicate bricks are also manufactured in Canada and the United States, and meet the criteria set forth in ASTM C73 – 10 Standard Specification for Calcium Silicate Brick (Sand-Lime Brick). Bricks formed from concrete are usually termed as blocks or concrete masonry unit , and are typically pale grey. They are made from

885-495: Is dug, 6–9 metres (20–30 ft) wide, 2–2.5 metres (6 ft 7 in – 8 ft 2 in) deep, and 100–150 metres (330–490 ft) in circumference. A tall exhaust chimney is constructed in the centre. Half or more of the trench is filled with "green" (unfired) bricks which are stacked in an open lattice pattern to allow airflow. The lattice is capped with a roofing layer of finished brick. In operation, new green bricks, along with roofing bricks, are stacked at one end of

944-451: Is manufactured differently for various purposes. Unfired bricks, also known as mudbrick , are made from a mixture of silt , clay , sand and other earth materials like gravel and stone, combined with tempers and binding agents such as chopped straw, grasses, tree bark , or dung. Since these bricks are made up of natural materials and only require heat from the Sun to bake, mudbricks have

1003-404: Is that of a polygon with 24 angles in its design, which is thought to contribute to the structure's stability against tremors. At the top of the tower, Kufic inscriptions were originally observable. The tower is protected by Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization . In some texts this place is called Burj Khalifa Yazid. According to some experts' ideas, this tower is like a clock pointer and

1062-544: The Brick Renaissance as the stylistic changes associated with the Italian Renaissance spread to northern Europe, leading to the adoption of Renaissance elements into brick building. Identifiable attributes included a low-pitched hipped or flat roof, symmetrical facade, round arch entrances and windows, columns and pilasters, and more. A clear distinction between the two styles only developed at

1121-584: The Building Research Establishment in Watford , UK, the use of improved masonry for the construction of tall structures up to 18 storeys high was made viable. However, the use of brick has largely remained restricted to small to medium-sized buildings, as steel and concrete remain superior materials for high-rise construction. Four basic types of brick are un-fired, fired, chemically set bricks, and compressed earth blocks. Each type

1180-660: The Levant over the following millennia. Well-preserved mudbricks from a site at Tel Tsaf, in the Jordan Valley, have been dated to 5200 BCE, though there is no evidence that either site was the first to use the technology. Evidence suggests that the mudbrick composition at Tel Tsaf was stable for at least 500 years, throughout the middle Chalcolithic period. The South Asian inhabitants of Mehrgarh constructed and lived in mud-brick houses between 7000–3300 BCE. Mud bricks were used at more than 15 reported sites attributed to

1239-662: The Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (e.g., PPNA Jericho). These sun dried mudbricks, also known as adobe or just mudbrick, were made from a mixture of sand, clay, water and frequently tempered (e.g. chopped straw and chaff branches), and were the most common method/material for constructing earthen buildings throughout the ancient Near East for millennia. Unfired mud-brick is still made throughout the world today, using both modern and traditional methods. The 9000 BCE dwellings of Jericho were constructed from mudbricks, affixed with mud, as were those at numerous sites across

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1298-475: The woodlots . The advantage of the BTK design is a much greater energy efficiency compared with clamp or scove kilns . Sheet metal or boards are used to route the airflow through the brick lattice so that fresh air flows first through the recently burned bricks, heating the air, then through the active burning zone. The air continues through the green brick zone (pre-heating and drying the bricks), and finally out

1357-470: The 3rd millennium BCE in the ancient Indus Valley civilization . In the Mature Harappan phase fired bricks were used. The Mesopotamians used sun-dried bricks in their city construction; typically these bricks were flat on the bottom and curved on the top, called plano-convex mud bricks. Some were formed in a square mould and rounded so that the middle was thicker than the ends. Some walls had

1416-736: The Herculaneum gate of Pompeii and the baths of Caracalla . During the Early Middle Ages the use of bricks in construction became popular in Northern Europe , after being introduced there from Northwestern Italy. An independent style of brick architecture, known as brick Gothic (similar to Gothic architecture ) flourished in places that lacked indigenous sources of rocks. Examples of this architectural style can be found in modern-day Denmark, Germany, Poland, and Kaliningrad (former East Prussia ). This style evolved into

1475-534: The ancient Indus Valley cities of Mohenjo-daro , Harappa , and Mehrgarh . Ceramic, or fired brick was used as early as 3000 BC in early Indus Valley cities like Kalibangan . In the middle of the third millennium BC, there was a rise in monumental baked brick architecture in Indus cities. Examples included the Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro , the fire altars of Kaalibangan , and the granary of Harappa . There

1534-561: The annual moving passageways of sunlight in Zodiacal. In addition to this feature, Toghrol Tower has another unique feature called the sundial that is hidden in the heart of its congresses. Naser al-Din Shah ordered some restorations to be made to the top part of the tower, which was collapsing in 1884. There are many challenges and discrepancies between experts and historians about the character buried in this building. Some consider it to be

1593-420: The book of Reye Baastaan (the ancient Ray) authoring Hassan Karimiyan is mentioned that a group attributes this monument to Fakhr Deilami. Mohammad Mohit Tabatabai considered this building to belong to Ibrahim Khawas and he himself was buried next to this tower in 1992. As mentioned above, Toghrol Tower was first renovated in 1922 and at the end of the 35th year of the reign of Nasser al-Din Shah. This restoration

1652-405: The brick pile. Historically, a stack of unfired bricks covered for protection from the weather was called a "hack". Cooled finished bricks are removed from the other end for transport to their destinations. In the middle, the brick workers create a firing zone by dropping fuel (coal, wood, oil, debris, etc.) through access holes in the roof above the trench. The constant source of fuel maybe grown on

1711-465: The bricks are fired as they move slowly through the kiln on conveyors , rails, or kiln cars, which achieves a more consistent brick product. The bricks often have lime , ash, and organic matter added, which accelerates the burning process. The other major kiln type is the Bull's Trench Kiln (BTK), based on a design developed by British engineer W. Bull in the late 19th century. An oval or circular trench

1770-444: The buildings more visible in the heavy fog and to help prevent traffic accidents. The transition from the traditional method of production known as hand-moulding to a mechanised form of mass-production slowly took place during the first half of the nineteenth century. The first brick-making machine was patented by Richard A. Ver Valen of Haverstraw, New York, in 1852. The Bradley & Craven Ltd 'Stiff-Plastic Brickmaking Machine'

1829-464: The chimney, where the rising gases create suction that pulls air through the system. The reuse of heated air yields savings in fuel cost. As with the rail process, the BTK process is continuous. A half-dozen labourers working around the clock can fire approximately 15,000–25,000 bricks a day. Unlike the rail process, in the BTK process the bricks do not move. Instead, the locations at which the bricks are loaded, fired, and unloaded gradually rotate through

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1888-456: The colour of bricks to blend-in areas of brickwork with the surrounding masonry. An impervious and ornamental surface may be laid on brick either by salt glazing , in which salt is added during the burning process, or by the use of a slip , which is a glaze material into which the bricks are dipped. Subsequent reheating in the kiln fuses the slip into a glazed surface integral with the brick base. Chemically set bricks are not fired but may have

1947-779: The construction materials for architectural wonders such as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon , where glazed fired bricks were put into practice. The earliest fired bricks appeared in Neolithic China around 4400 BC at Chengtoushan , a walled settlement of the Daxi culture . These bricks were made of red clay, fired on all sides to above 600 °C, and used as flooring for houses. By the Qujialing period (3300 BC), fired bricks were being used to pave roads and as building foundations at Chengtoushan. According to Lukas Nickel,

2006-610: The construction of canal , roads , and railways . Production of bricks increased massively with the onset of the Industrial Revolution and the rise in factory building in England. For reasons of speed and economy, bricks were increasingly preferred as building material to stone, even in areas where the stone was readily available. It was at this time in London that bright red brick was chosen for construction to make

2065-736: The construction of the tomb of China's first Emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi . The floors of the three pits of the terracotta army were paved with an estimated 230,000 bricks, with the majority measuring 28x14x7 cm, following a 4:2:1 ratio. The use of fired bricks in Chinese city walls first appeared in the Eastern Han dynasty (25 AD-220 AD). Up until the Middle Ages, buildings in Central Asia were typically built with unbaked bricks. It

2124-518: The curing process accelerated by the application of heat and pressure in an autoclave. Calcium-silicate bricks are also called sandlime or flintlime bricks, depending on their ingredients. Rather than being made with clay they are made with lime binding the silicate material. The raw materials for calcium-silicate bricks include lime mixed in a proportion of about 1 to 10 with sand, quartz , crushed flint , or crushed siliceous rock together with mineral colourants . The materials are mixed and left until

2183-418: The early seventies, and seriously began in mid-1998 and ended in the winter of 2000. Reconstruction is currently underway by District 20 of Tehran Municipality in an area of 2 hectares in order to expand and build a cultural center, library, museum and restaurant. Brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly,

2242-503: The end of the 19th century, the Hudson River region of New York State would become the world's largest brick manufacturing region, with 130 brickyards lining the shores of the Hudson River from Mechanicsville to Haverstraw and employing 8,000 people. At its peak, about 1 billion bricks were produced a year, with many being sent to New York City for use in its construction industry. The demand for high office building construction at

2301-483: The first bricks with dimension 400x150x100 mm. Between 5000 and 4500 BC, Mesopotamia had discovered fired brick. The standard brick sizes in Mesopotamia followed a general rule: the width of the dried or burned brick would be twice its thickness, and its length would be double its width. The South Asian inhabitants of Mehrgarh also constructed air-dried mudbrick structures between 7000 and 3300 BC and later

2360-454: The lime is completely hydrated; the mixture is then pressed into moulds and cured in an autoclave for three to fourteen hours to speed the chemical hardening. The finished bricks are very accurate and uniform, although the sharp arrises need careful handling to avoid damage to brick and bricklayer. The bricks can be made in a variety of colours; white, black, buff, and grey-blues are common, and pastel shades can be achieved. This type of brick

2419-401: The need for straw, which would prevent the likelihood of insects deteriorating the organic material of the bricks, subsequently weakening the structure. These ingredients are thoroughly mixed together by hand or by treading and are then left to ferment for about a day. The mix is then kneaded with water and molded into rectangular prisms of a desired size. Bricks are lined up and left to dry in

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2478-536: The same way for millennia. Mud from some locations required sand, chopped straw or other binders such as animal dung to be mixed in with the mud to increase durability and plasticity. Workers gathered mud from the Nile river and poured it into a pit. Workers then tramped on the mud while straw was added to solidify the mold. The mudbricks were chemically suitable as fertilizer , leading to the destruction of many ancient Egyptian ruins, such as at Edfu . A well-preserved site

2537-428: The standard of vernacular architecture in some warmer regions- mainly in parts of Africa and western Asia . In the 20th century, the compressed earth block was developed using high pressure as a cheap and eco-friendly alternative to obtain non-fired bricks with more strength than the simpler air-dried mudbricks. The history of mudbrick production and construction in the southern Levant may be dated as far back to

2596-476: The sun for three days on both sides. After the six days, the bricks continue drying until required for use. Typically, longer drying times are preferred, but the average is eight to nine days spanning from initial stages to its application in structures. Unfired bricks could be made in the spring months and left to dry over the summer for use in the autumn. Mudbricks are commonly employed in arid environments to allow for adequate air drying. Fired bricks are baked in

2655-494: The sun) until they were strong enough for use. The oldest discovered bricks, originally made from shaped mud and dating before 7500 BC, were found at Tell Aswad , in the upper Tigris region and in southeast Anatolia close to Diyarbakir . Mudbrick construction was used at Çatalhöyük , from c. 7,400 BC. Mudbrick structures, dating to c. 7,200 BC have been located in Jericho , Jordan Valley. These structures were made up of

2714-437: The temperature inside the kiln stayed at a level that caused the clay to shimmer with the colour of molten gold or silver. He also had to know when to quench the kiln with water so as to produce the surface glaze. To anonymous labourers fell the less skilled stages of brick production: mixing clay and water, driving oxen over the mixture to trample it into a thick paste, scooping the paste into standardised wooden frames (to produce

2773-414: The term brick denotes a unit primarily composed of clay , but is now also used informally to denote units made of other materials or other chemically cured construction blocks. Bricks can be joined using mortar , adhesives or by interlocking. Bricks are usually produced at brickworks in numerous classes, types, materials, and sizes which vary with region, and are produced in bulk quantities. Block

2832-560: The third century BC, when baked bricks of regular shape began to be employed for vaulting underground tombs. Hollow brick tomb chambers rose in popularity as builders were forced to adapt due to a lack of readily available wood or stone. The oldest extant brick building above ground is possibly Songyue Pagoda , dated to 523 AD. By the end of the third century BC in China, both hollow and small bricks were available for use in building walls and ceilings. Fired bricks were first mass-produced during

2891-572: The time can be recognized by the sunshine on its congresses. It is said that one of the uses of this tower was to use it on foggy nights by lighting a fire on its high barrier to guide the travelers of the Silk Road coming from Khorasan to Rey, and to meet the chronological needs of the people during the day. According to Manouchehr Arian in the article "Another Look at the Towers", calling the term "tower" to this building and similar buildings refers to

2950-410: The tomb of Tughral Beyk of Seljuk, and it is stated in the “Mahmalottavarikh” book on page 465 that "Sultan Tughralibek died in the city of Rey and his tomb is there." Turkish historian, Faregh Sumer also considers the burial place of Toghrol in the same location. Other writers consider this place to be the burial place of Khalil Sultan, the son of Timur Lang and his wife Shadalmolk in the 15th century. In

3009-500: The transition to Baroque architecture . In Lübeck , for example, Brick Renaissance is clearly recognisable in buildings equipped with terracotta reliefs by the artist Statius von Düren, who was also active at Schwerin ( Schwerin Castle ) and Wismar (Fürstenhof). Long-distance bulk transport of bricks and other construction equipment remained prohibitively expensive until the development of modern transportation infrastructure, with

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3068-625: The trench. The colour of fired clay bricks is influenced by the chemical and mineral content of the raw materials, the firing temperature, and the atmosphere in the kiln. For example, pink bricks are the result of a high iron content, white or yellow bricks have a higher lime content. Most bricks burn to various red hues; as the temperature is increased the colour moves through dark red, purple, and then to brown or grey at around 1,300 °C (2,370 °F). The names of bricks may reflect their origin and colour, such as London stock brick and Cambridgeshire White. Brick tinting may be performed to change

3127-642: The turn of the 20th century led to a much greater use of cast and wrought iron , and later, steel and concrete . The use of brick for skyscraper construction severely limited the size of the building – the Monadnock Building , built in 1896 in Chicago, required exceptionally thick walls to maintain the structural integrity of its 17 storeys. Following pioneering work in the 1950s at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and

3186-429: The use of ceramic pieces for protecting and decorating floors and walls dates back at various cultural sites to 3000-2000 BC and perhaps even before, but these elements should be rather qualified as tiles . For the longest time builders relied on wood, mud and rammed earth, while fired brick and mudbrick played no structural role in architecture. Proper brick construction, for erecting walls and vaults , finally emerges in

3245-518: Was a uniformity to the brick sizes throughout the Indus Valley region, conforming to the 1:2:4, thickness, width, and length ratio. As the Indus civilization began its decline at the start of the second millennium BC, Harappans migrated east, spreading their knowledge of brickmaking technology. This led to the rise of cities like Pataliputra , Kausambi , and Ujjain , where there was an enormous demand for kiln-made bricks. By 604 BC, bricks were

3304-595: Was carried out by the order of the Shah and by the Chancellor Amin al-Sultan and by Abul Hassan Khan Memarbashi and marble slabs were installed on the entrance of the building. This reconstruction saved the building from the danger of destruction, but destroyed the elegance of the old works and the tomb of the Kufic inscription. After the Revolution of 1978, this building was abandoned until it was rebuilt again in

3363-750: Was hot, filthy work. Early civilisations around the Mediterranean , including the Ancient Greeks and Romans , adopted the use of fired bricks. By the early first century CE, standardised fired bricks were being heavily produced in Rome. The Roman legions operated mobile kilns , and built large brick structures throughout the Roman Empire , stamping the bricks with the seal of the legion. The Romans used brick for walls, arches, forts, aqueducts, etc. Notable mentions of Roman brick structures are

3422-517: Was only starting in the ninth century CE when buildings were entirely constructed using fired bricks. The carpenter's manual Yingzao Fashi , published in 1103 at the time of the Song dynasty described the brick making process and glazing techniques then in use. Using the 17th-century encyclopaedic text Tiangong Kaiwu , historian Timothy Brook outlined the brick production process of Ming dynasty China: ...the kilnmaster had to make sure that

3481-686: Was patented in 1853. Bradley & Craven went on to be a dominant manufacturer of brickmaking machinery. Henry Clayton, employed at the Atlas Works in Middlesex , England, in 1855, patented a brick-making machine that was capable of producing up to 25,000 bricks daily with minimal supervision. His mechanical apparatus soon achieved widespread attention after it was adopted for use by the South Eastern Railway Company for brick-making at their factory near Folkestone . At

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