Introduction

The brick is as old as the art of building itself. The very first burnt bricks were discovered on shores of the Eufrat River and the Tigrid river originated from the 4th millennium B.C. The old Christian architecture used the first fair-face brickwork but only the Gothic period came to master expression in the complicated red fair-face brick building. The brick products and ceramic products started to be used commonly after it was known that burning in fire can be improved properties of the clay as well as to improve such properties as shape stability, strength, absorbability-porosity and resistance to weather and environmental effects. Thanks to these properties the classic brick materials survived thousands of years and still are the favourite materials for building today.