Review: Ancient Building Technology. Volume 3: Construction, by G. R. H. Wright and Constructing the Ancient World: Architectural Techniques of the Greeks and Romans, by Carmelo G. Malacrino and Jay Hyams

Abstract

G. R. H. Wright . Ancient Building Technology. Volume 3: Construction . Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV, 2009, 325 pp., 415 b/w illus. $272, ISBN 9004177451 Carmelo G. Malacrino, trans. Jay Hyams . Constructing the Ancient World: Architectural Techniques of the Greeks and Romans . Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2010, 216 pp., 200 color illus. $50, ISBN 9781606060162 These two books devoted to the ancient art of building differ in aim and scope. G. R. H. Wright's book follows upon his two earlier volumes, focusing respectively on the historical context and building materials in the ancient world.1 Wright presents this third volume as a compendium of research on ancient construction, intended as a reference for specialists, particularly during fieldwork. Although Carmelo Malacrino's book also addresses scholars, it seeks a wider audience of nonspecialists, and will appeal to classical archaeologists, historians of art and architecture, and the general public with an interest in antiquity. While narrower in terms of the technical specialization of its intended audience, Wright's book features greater breadth in its balance of classical and nonclassical material. Including extensive treatment of the architecture of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, the Levant, and Iran, it stretches chronologically from the Neolithic period to the Sassanians. Unlike Malacrino's book, which makes for a pleasant cover-to-cover read in addition to serving as a reference, Wright aims to facilitate reference by repeating information throughout chapters that are organized according to phases or techniques of construction, as well as by providing sections treating cultures and periods not covered by Malacrino. Both books are informative on a wide range of topics related to ancient construction, but because Wright had written an earlier volume devoted entirely to materials, his present book is not afforded the opportunity to give the kind of expansive treatment of the nature and production of building materials offered by Malacrino. The latter provides a whole chapter covering the full array of building stones used in Greek and Roman construction, including the different volcanic stones, limestones, and marbles presented in their historical and geographic contexts. Welcome information includes the varying prices of marble and colored stones during the Imperial era, as well as …