Lithuanian Old Brick Size Variations Over Time 131
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Vytautas LevANDAUSKAS, Nijolė TALUNTYTĖ Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania LITHUANIAN OLD BRICK SIZE VARIATIONS OVER TIME 131 Keywords: brick sizes, architectural heritage, dating, chronology A III. rtifacts of Brick sizes are among the most important (if not the a dating system based on the entire evolution of THE main) indications of the ancient masonry, the com- architectural masonry, nor attempting to explain bination of which can be used for dating architec- the historical reasons for brick size variations. In L tural heritage. On the other hand, the examination addition, in their published writings or surviving ithuanian and comparison of brick sizes in different countries manuscripts, these architects-restorers focused on make it possible to reveal the ways building ceram- the brick formats of the medieval architectural heri- ics developed, show its specificity and even the attri- tage, often bypassing the early modern period and butes of the Lithuanian mentality. contemporary history. C Yet in the 6th decade of the 20th c., Lithuanian The aim of this paper is to determine the character- ultural architectural historians drew attention to the dif- istic brick formats and evolution of those formats ferent brick sizes in the medieval construction, in different periods. The research used a complex and soon after, followed the architects-restorers to method of comparing the measured brick sizes to M whom the brick size was important in identifying those specified in the historical documents. More emory the construction phases. In the research report1 on than 150 buildings of various epochs (as close to the Gothic house in Kaunas, Vilnius St., architect the known time of construction as possible) were Dalija Zareckienė has classified brick sizes of the selected for measurement. At least 100 bricks of each medieval buildings in Kaunas and identified their 5 architectural object were chosen for measurement. formats: 1) large bricks; 2) transition period bricks; The most common average sizes were calculated not 3) small and thick bricks; 4) extremely small and by the arithmetical mean, but by using the Gaussian thick bricks; 5) large and thin bricks. D. Zareckienė method of mathematical statistics to select the most tried to link these formats to the individual Gothic common sizes. If it has been established that bricks periods. Architect Žibartas Simanavičius2 has taken do not fit in one frame size, several frame sizes are a deeper look into the format issue, though. Hav- distinguished. The data are listed in the tables. Part ing made a critical evaluation of the earlier works of of the data have already been published in scientific Lithuanian researchers, he proposed new evaluation journals3, and some (for lack of space not in all of criteria for brick formats – 1) brick size dependence them) are presented in this article (see Table Lithu- on the development of masonry techniques (con- anian brick sizes from the 17th-20th century). struction) and 2) brick length-width ratio (l : b). The research has revealed a rather complex varia- Architects-restorers’ studies have been application- tion of both brick sizes and formats. orientated and had no intention of neither creating In its earliest building period, Lithuania used two types of bricks: thick and thin. For example, the the 13th to the first half of the 14th century. To illus- wall remains of the Grodno Upper Chapel (13th c.) trate, the average thickness of one brick format of consist predominantly of thin – 42-58 mm thick – Medininkai castle is 55 mm, while that of the others bricks, among which two other formats are distin- is 68 and 92 mm. Thick masonry bricks were used in guished – the short one (268×141×44mm) and the those masonry parts that had to be stronger, such as 132 long one (317×157×52mm). However, the same fence corners, which are more vulnerable than the masonry also has some thick bricks, with most com- middle part of the wall. The width of these bricks is mon average dimensions of 299×163×75 mm. This half-length greater (l : b <2). Thinner bricks, on the can be interpreted in different ways, for instance, other hand, were used for a wall shell. They are nar- assuming that the construction had used asynchro- rower than the thick ones or, in other words, their l nous bricks of other dismantled buildings. Still, it : b ratio reaches 2. Such brick narrowness may have is clear that the old Grodno brick building exhibits resulted from economic factors – laying a thinner two clashing cultures – Eastern and Western, and shell on large surfaces lowers brick capacity costs. artefaktai that two brick-making traditions had crossed each Bricks of Gothic buildings are significantly different other there – the Byzantine and the Romanesque. from the early predecessors. The main difference is The practice of thin bricks came to Grodno from a significant increase in the length and width ratio. Kievan Rus’, but it manifested in its own way – From the second half of the 14th c. until the end of instead of imitating the Byzantine traditions, the use the 16th c., the dominant dependence was l : b > 2. atminties of thin bricks was adapted to the formats of West- S In most cases, this ratio is greater than 1.15 and in ė ern European countries. Compared with the other some cases as high as 1.3 (Vytautas Grodno Castle, Ruthenian cities, affected by the Byzantine tradi- Church of St. George in Kėdainiai). Bricks of such tion, Grodno bricks were thicker and narrower. An proportions are intended for unplastered Gothic oblong brick shape was more convenient and prac- masonry, aesthetics of which had to meet high tical than the square Byzantine-type bricks, which kultūrin requirements. By correctly binding the bricks, brick- unbaked semi-finished bricks would often break layers were carefully aligning the thickness of verti- or bent. In the same way, they were also lighter cal seams. Narrower bricks were more convenient. and easier to lay. A similar trend was identified by It can be assumed that the length and width ratio of archaeologist P. Rapoport when he was exploring ietuvos Gothic bricks was no coincidence, but anticipation the ancient architecture of Smolensk. He concluded of vertical masonry seam thickness in façades. that the plinth sizes were changing chronologically, III. L III. as the plinth’s longer edge was declining, and their Bricks of such proportions are most suitable not only thickness in the monuments of the late 12th c. and for the Gothic binding, but also for complex struc- early 13th c. was more than 4cm4. The bricks of the tures, such as laying buttresses, pillars and arches. Upper Chapel were even narrower. Their length and The bricks with a length and width ratio greater than width ratio l : b ranges from 1:1,8 to 1:2. In addition, 2 were used in the construction of Romanesque and as mentioned earlier, there were some thick bricks Gothic buildings in the neighbouring countries, 5 6 7 (70-80 mm) in the same masonry. Thick bricks were such as North Germany , Prussia and Poland . then an innovative and cost-effective feature: the These countries had an impact on the formation same masonry capacity required less brick units; of brick formats in the second half of the 14th c. therefore, brick-shaping labour costs were decreas- Incidentally, it was discovered that brick sizes of ing. However, thick bricks required longer drying the medieval North Germany had been changing and burning periods. consistently: in the period of the 12th-14th c., their thickness8 was increasing gradually. Over the course The use of both thin and thick bricks for the Grodno of time, medieval bricks in Lithuania did not exhibit Upper Chapel masonry was not a one-time practice. such a stable development. It was established that in Bricks of different thickness were also used for build- the second half of the14th c., compared with enclo- ing enclosure castles in Lithuania from the end of sure castles, Gothic bricks became thicker up to 80-90 mm, and retained almost the same thickness buildings ranges significantly. This is because there until the end of the 16th c. were not any strict standard requirements for their manufacturers at the time. It is not yet known when In conclusion, it can be stated that the Lithuanian brick sizes began to be regulated at a national level. Gothic buildings used two brick formats: The mid-20th c. Polish literature notes that in 1549, 1) smaller in size, with the same dimen- by order of King Sigismund Augustus, building regu- 133 sions as in neighbouring Germany and Poland – lations were imposed. Brick sizes had to be as fol- 260-280 ×120-130×80-90 mm. This format bricks lows: thickness – 3 inches, width – 6 inches, length – were used yet in the second half of the 14th c. for 12 inches11. Whether these standards were actually A III. the defensive structures, such as Vytautas Grodno prescribed by King is still a matter of speculation12, Castle (270×117×85mm), the eastern wall of however, if they had been, we should recognize that rtifacts Trakai Peninsula Castle near the Sacred Mountain this was the first official attempt to standardize brick (275×120×76 mm), also for the later 15th-16th sizes. An inch was 1/24 of a cubit, which was differ- c. civilian buildings, including Kaunas Cathedral ent in different areas of the kingdom. Basilica, St. George’s and Zapyškis churches and res- Bricks in Renaissance buildings, even if manufac- of idential buildings in Kaunas – Rotušės Ave. 2, the tured in the same period (as well as in the 16th c.), THE House of Perkūnas.