This resume study deals with building material, which together with construction and structures, forms one of the three aspects of building, or equally one of the three factors which constitute the nature of a building. Unlike existing manuals on ancient building, this offers an analytic presentation and the subject matter extends across all ages and regions. The treatment of materials is set out according to a paradigm of nature, manufacture and use, so as to facilitate direct comparison between different modes of the one material, as also between different materials and between different...