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According to history, bricks were first fired around 3500 BC, in Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq, one of the high-risk seismic areas of the world. The ziggurat temples at Eridu, possibly the world's first city, have withstood not only earthquakes but also wars and invasions. From Roman aqueducts and public buildings to the Great Wall of China, from the domes of Islamic architecture to the early railway arch bridges, from the first 19th century American tall buildings to the 20th century nuclear power plants, bricks have been used as structural material in all applications of building and civil engineering. The most commonplace use of bricks worldwide throughout time is in residential dwellings. The shape and size of bricks can vary considerably, and similarly the mortars used depend on...
