Thatch was most likely used to cover the roofs of ancient Greek structures made of wood, clay, and plaster. The development of fired ceramic roof tiles coincided with the growth of stone building. Stones were chosen for their durability; therefore, many structures have survived until today.
In addition to this, large stones were also used as walls and fences. There are several sites in Greece where you can see remains of stone walling dating back to 3000 B.C., such as the Aspropyrgos Wall in Athens. This is one of the oldest preserved defensive walls in Europe.
As time passed by, people started using concrete to build houses instead. Concrete has some advantages over stone or brick: it's stronger, it doesn't get hot during summer like bricks do, it doesn't conduct heat like metal does, and it doesn't blow away like sand does. All these properties make concrete a good material for building homes.
People also used wood as a building material. Wood is easy to find, flexible, and durable. In fact, the Great Pyramid of Giza is made of nearly 2 million tons of limestone and about 880,000 tons of granite. However, wooden structures usually aren't as strong as those built out of concrete or stone, so they tended to be smaller structures that needed to be replaced often.
Roofs of Ancient Greek Temples The ancient Greeks also constructed public buildings with larger and more complex roofs, such as temples. As a result, marble roofing tiles were used on the greatest temples, such as the Temple of Zeus. The pediment is the triangular gable on ancient Greek architecture. It often had an image of the god to which the temple was dedicated engraved or painted upon it. The pediment was used for decorating purposes only; it did not provide any protection from the elements.
There are two main types of roofs that appear on Greek temples: the hip-and-gable roof and the flat roof. Both types of roof were made of wood and covered in gray marble tiles. The hips and gables are the names given to the projections on each side of the temple's body. They usually take the form of a curved piece of wood, but they could be made of stone if marble was available. Hip-and-gable roofs are easier to build than flat roofs because they have peaks that can be used as supports for heavy tiles or stones. They also allow for some level of weatherization by adding or removing tiles to change the temperature inside the temple.
The Greeks built many large temples throughout their history. Some of these temples had flat roofs while others had hip-and-gable roofs. There are several reasons why the ancients may have chosen one type of roof over another.
The majority of household structures were constructed using timber frames and wattle and daub infill. Roofs were mainly covered with thatch; wooden shingles were sometimes used, and tile and slate were used in select regions beginning in the 12th century. Brick and stone were also used for buildings such as churches, but these materials were expensive and limited in supply.
Household buildings were one part of a larger economy based on farming. Land ownership was common among the aristocracy, while free men tended to belong to guilds or trade associations that provided some protection from economic fluctuations. Laborers, including farm workers, were usually not rich, although there were always some who were more successful than others.
Buildings had religious significance too. Churches were important centers of community life where people could meet and be educated about their faith. Monasteries were places where monks could study and pray without distraction. Courts were centers of justice where cases could be heard and punishments handed out; they often included chains and stocks for disciplining criminals.
England had many towns and cities when it began its industrial revolution in the 18th century. People moved to these locations because of work opportunities in the new factories and offices. They built homes in which to live and raise families. These are important elements in understanding English history as we know it today.
Materials The Greeks clearly preferred marble, at least for public structures. Initially, however, wood would have been used not just for fundamental architectural features such as columns, but also for the whole structure. Temples with thatched roofs were built in the early eighth century BCE. After about 700 more temples were built, the practice was abandoned because of the lack of timber. In place of the thatch, ceramic tiles were used instead.
The first written evidence we have of bronze being used in architecture comes from Egypt where it was employed mainly for statues and other decorative items. However, since the Bronze Age ended around 1200 BCE, we must assume that the Greeks also used this material for important functions such as attaching doors or windows. Indeed, some Greek buildings of this era are still extant today although most of them were taken over by other cultures during later times. For example, the temple of Apollo at Delphi is now located inside a large Roman building.
After the wooden temples were destroyed, the Greeks turned to stone which was easily worked and did not decay like wood does. Also, stone is used for many public buildings in Greece today. The main problem with stone is that it is very heavy which limits what can be done with it design-wise. For example, the walls of the Parthenon were too thick to be made out of stone.
The last major building material used by the Greeks was clay.
(Annely) There are several initiatives underway now for the renovation and preservation of old structures (see image to the right). The Greeks preferred limestone, marble, and ivory as construction materials and building blocks for their temples, monuments, and sculptural ornamentation. Gold was used in the creation of some religious objects for the gods.
Limestone has been important to Greek culture since the early days of Athens. The island of Aegina, for example, is made up almost entirely of limestone cliffs. Limestone is easy to work with and many important architectural features of Ancient Greece are made of it. Marble was also widely used throughout Greece. It was often imported from Italy or elsewhere but also came from within Greece (especially Peloponnese). Ivory was also widely used for sculpture and as a material for tableware and jewelry. Silver was used in sacrificial rituals and for other important events but it was also used for everyday objects like dishes and knives.
The architecture of Ancient Greece was very different from anything else seen at that time.
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