Characteristics of Roman period building bricks in Anatolia

In this study, chemical and mineralogical compositions, physical, microstructural and pozzolanic properties of Roman Period building bricks taken from Kizil Avlu (Serapeum) in Pergamon and from several different buildings from ancient sites of Aigai and Nysa were determined by using XRF, XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDS and chemical analyses. Chemical compositions of bricks were evaluted by statistical analyses in order to identify whether or not these bricks were manufactured by using same natural raw material sources. Analyses results indicated that Roman period building bricks were manufactured by using calcium rich clay sources and fired at low temperatures (<900 degrees C). Brick samples were mainly composed of quartz, albite, anorthite, muscovite and hematite. Statistically significant differences found in their chemical compositions revealed that local raw material sources were selected for the manufacturing of historic brick samples belonging to different cities.