THE DWELLING HOUSE 



Assyrian architecture developed forms dependent on 

 small units of construction. Possessing little timber, 

 and practically no stone, they baked the soil into bricks 

 of uniform size. These made solid walls, which, 

 however, did not lend themselves to carvings or dec- 

 orations in relief. The Assyrian method of ornamen- 

 tation was, therefore, during its entire history, the 

 superimposed slab of alabaster or granite, or a coating 

 of highly glazed, multi-colored bricks. Moreover, a 

 structural problem was created by the exclusive use of 

 the small brick. In the absence of long timber beams 

 and of large stones the erection of a second story, or 

 even of ceiling and roof, became difficult. Necessity, 

 therefore, forced upon the Assyrian the beautiful 

 solution given by the arch. 



The Greek edifice is essentially adapted to the use 

 of large stones jointed together without mortar. This 

 method was transferred to Rome, and governed con- 

 struction till the last century of the old era, when radi- 

 cal transformations were wrought by the invention 

 of a concrete formed of pebbles and mortar. The 

 arch, devised in Assyria, was marvelously developed 

 by the Roman mason, who had the plastic concrete 

 to work with. Elaborate vaulting made necessary 

 an accurate science of abutment, and gave rise to forms 

 of great complexity. Ornament was no longer a part 

 of the body of the structure as with the Greeks, but 

 became a drapery for the undecorative concrete of 

 the original wall. 



It will be seen, then, how the great essential differences 

 in the architecture of Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and Rome 



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