ABSTRACT

Introduction Originally, bricks were hand-moulded from moist clay and then sun-baked, as is still the current practice in certain arid climates. The firing of clay bricks dates back well over 5000 years, and is now a sophisticated and highly controlled manufacturing process; yet the principle of burning clay, to convert it from its natural plastic state into a dimensionally stable, durable, lowmaintenance ceramic material, remains unchanged.