A brick is a block or a single unit of a kneaded * clay- bearing soil, ** sand and *** lime, or concrete material, fire hardened or air dried, used in masonry construction. Lightweight bricks (also called lightweight blocks) are made from expanded clay aggregate. Fired brick are the most numerous type and are laid in courses and numerous patterns known as bonds, collectively known as brickwork, and may be laid in various kinds of mortar to hold the bricks together to make a durable structure. Brick are produced in numerous classes, types, materials, and sizes which vary with region and time period, and are produced in bulk quantities. Two most basic categories of brick are fired and non-fired brick. Fired brick are one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials sometimes referred to as artificial stone and have been used since circa 5000 BC. Air dried bricks have a history older than fired bricks, are known by the synonyms mud brick and adobe, and have an additional ingredient of a mechanical binder such as straw.
(More information on Bricks further down. BUT first the earth lesson.)
*Clay
The term clay refers to a number of earthy materials that are composed of minerals rich in alumina, silica and water. Clay is not a single mineral, but a number of minerals. When most clays are wet, they become "plastic" meaning they can be formed and molded into shapes. When they are "fired" (exposed to very high temperatures), the water is driven off and they become as hard as stone. Clay is easily found all over the world. As a result, nearly all civilizations have used some form of clay for everything from bricks to pottery to tablets for recording business transactions.
The minerals that make up clay are so fine that until the invention of X-ray diffraction analysis, these minerals were not specifically known. Under extremely high magnification, one can see that clay minerals can be shaped like flakes, fibers, and even hollow tubes. Clays can also contain other materials such as iron oxide (rust), silica, and rock fragments. These impurities can change the characteristics of the clay. For example, iron oxide colors clay red. The presence of silica increases the plasticity of the clay (that is, makes it easier to mold and form into shapes).
Clays are categorized into six categories in industry. These categories are ball clay, bentonite, common clay, fire clay, fuller’s earth, and kaolin.
(Kaolinite, one of many forms of clay)
**Sand
The use of sand as a commodity falls into two separate categories. Some is used in construction where it may be mixed with other materials or used as is. The second use is industrial where the sand are used in some way in the production of other materials.
Sand, whether it is found on beaches or in rivers and streams, is mostly quartz (silicon dioxide, SiO2) grains. The weathering of rocks such as granite forms these quartz grains. In the process of weathering, the softer, weaker minerals in granite (such as feldspar) are weathered away. The more resistant quartz eventually is ground down in size, but does not break down chemically. In time, these quartz grains accumulate in rivers, streams, deltas and on beaches. Grains of other weathering-resistant minerals (such as garnet, rutile, ruby, sapphire, zircon, etc.) are often found in quartz sand as well.
For some applications, it is the silica content (quartz) of sand that makes it so valuable. The silica itself is needed to make products such as glass. In addition, the physical properties of sand, particularly its abrasive property, make it useful for traction on icy roadways and railroads, and for sandblasting.
***Lime
Lime is a general term used for various forms of a basic chemical produced from calcium carbonate rocks such as limestone (CaCO3) and dolomite (CaCO3*MgCO3) More specifically, “quicklime” is calcium oxide (CaO) or calcium-magnesium oxide (Ca)*MgO). “Hydrated lime” (also called slaked lime) is produced by mixing the oxide forms with water. “Hydraulic lime” is an impure form of lime that will harden under water. “Dead-burned dolomite” is a special form of dolomitic lime used in refractories. Most lime is produced by calcining (burning) limestone or dolomite. For example, if limestone is burned at 1,010 to 1,345 degrees Celsius, the carbon dioxide is driven off and leaves calcium oxide or quicklime. In its purest form and under laboratory conditions, 100 kilograms (kg) of limestone will produce 56 kg of quicklime. Lime has been used for thousands of years for construction.
Back to bricks.
Europe: Early civilisations around the Mediterranean adopted the use of fired bricks, including the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The Roman legions operated mobile kilns , and built large brick structures throughout the Roman Empire, stamping the bricks with the seal of the legion.
During the Early Middle Ages the use of bricks in construction became popular inNorthern Europe, after being introduced there from Northern-Western Italy. An independent style of brick architecture, known as brick Gothic (similar to Gothic architecture) flourished in places that lacked indigenous sources of rocks.
Long distance bulk transport of bricks and other construction equipment remained prohibitively expensive until the development of modern transportation infrastructure, with the construction of canals, roads and railways.
Optimal dimensions, characteristics, and strength
For efficient handling and laying, bricks must be small enough and light enough to be picked up by the bricklayer using one hand (leaving the other hand free for the trowel). Bricks are usually laid flat and as a result the effective limit on the width of a brick is set by the distance which can conveniently be spanned between the thumb and fingers of one hand, normally about four inches (about 100 mm). In most cases, the length of a brick is about twice its width, about eight inches (about 200 mm) or slightly more. This allows bricks to be laid bonded in a structure which increases stability and strength. The wall is built using alternating courses of stretchers, bricks laid longways, and headers, bricks laid crossways. The headers tie the wall together over its width. In fact, this wall is built in a variation of English bond called English cross bond where the successive layers of stretchers are displaced horizontally from each other by half a brick length. In true English bond, the perpendicular lines of the stretcher courses are in line with each other.
In England, the length and width of the common brick has remained fairly constant over the centuries ,but the depth has varied from about two inches (about 51 mm) or smaller in earlier times to about two and a half inches (about 64 mm) more recently. Normal and usual brick sizes used around in the world vary in size. Here are the standards : 215 × 102.5 × 65 mm, 194 × 92 × 57 mm, 250 × 120 × 62 mm, 222 × 106 × 73 mm, 250 × 120 × 65 mm, 240 × 115 × 63 mm, 228 × 107 × 69 mm, 240 × 115 × 71 mm, 228 × 108 × 54 mm and 230 × 110 × 76mm
Brick Work
Brickwork, rows of bricks — called courses— are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall.
Parts of brickwork include bricks, beds and perpends. The bed is the mortar upon which a brick is laid. A perpend is a vertical joint between any two bricks and is usually — but not always — filled with mortar. The dimensions of these parts are, in general, co-ordinated so that two bricks laid side by side separated only by the width of a perpend have a total width identical to the length of a single brick laid transversely on top of them.
There are thousands of types of bricks that are named for their use, size, forming method, origin, quality, texture, and/or materials worldwide. And many of them use this co-ordinating principle.
Orientation
A brick is given a classification based on how it is laid, and how the exposed face is oriented relative to the face of the finished wall.
Stretcher: A brick laid with its long narrow side exposed.
Header: A brick laid flat with its width at the face of the wall, or parallel to the face of the wall.
Soldier: A brick laid vertically with the long narrow side of the brick exposed.
Sailor: A brick laid vertically with the broad face of the brick exposed.
Rowlock: A brick laid on the long narrow side with the short end of the brick exposed.
Shiner: A brick laid on the long narrow side with the broad face of the brick exposed.
To log this cache.
To get to log this cache you will have to visit and answer the questions which are related to the coordinates given the earthcache.
When answers are collected, send them to CO for verification.
As I own about 50 earthcaches there are MANY mails/messages to answer back on, and I will not always be able to answer right-back, BUT I READ ALL SENT ANSWERS AND LOGS, so if anything is not correct or need an upgrade, you will indeed hear back from me.
Thanks for your understanding, and for picking one of my caches.
You can log immediately answers are sent CO. If there are any questions about your answers CO will contact you.
Logs without answers to CO or with pending questions from CO will be deleted without any further notice.
Please do not include pictures in your log that may answer the questions.
Questions
(I would say you could use both the coordinates given: GZ and the viewpoint to answer the questions under)
1. Answer the questions under by visiting the Coordinates. But I would say that you can use anywhere at the bridge to this cache. (Answer A1 can be found at GZ, and A2 & A3 by knowing abit of the history and using the text)
A1. The coordinates given will lead you to the Bishop Bridge. With a little re-search and check at gz: What building materials are used in the bridge?
A2.How old would you say that the material used is.
A3. By focusing on the earth lesson above (clay, sand and lime that makes the product), why do you think this type of material was used?
B. Feel the surface of the bricks, what can you say about it? (Answer can be found at GZ)
C. Measure some brick samples, and find out what the approx size is. Leave the answer in one of the standard sizes mentioned up in the text. And what color do they mainly have? (You can use the end by the stairs down next to the water for a better point of use) (Answer can be found at GZ)
D. What is some main reason for the bricks wear? (Answer can be found by using common sense)
E.How are the bricks laid, in what orientation? (Answer can be found at gz.)
2. Take a photo of yourself, the group or your GPS when logging the cache.
Without revealing any answers!
(It’s voluntary to post a photo in your online log)
Bishop Bridge, Norwich
Bishop Bridge spans the River Wensum at the western edge of Norwich's Cathedral Quarter. The bridge was built in 1340, and is is stlll in use, making it one of the oldest active bridges in England. The origins of the bridge go back still earlier, however, to 1275 when the prior of Norwich Cathedral was granted a license by Edward I to build a gate [a fortified gatehouse] with a 20 feet wide bridge attatched.
It is likely that an even earlier bridge already existed, and the royal license merely allowed the Bishop to protect the bridge with a new gatehouse. The gatehouse was finished in 1343 over the western end of the bridge, and it was paid for by Richard Spynk.
Throughout the medieval period a gatehouse stood at the western end of the bridge to control access. The gatehouse was a part of the bridge until 1791 when it was torn down. The only remnant is a semi-circular projection on one side of the bridge that formed part of a turret. The bridge was owned by the monks and they could charge tolls to travellers. The prior was allowed to erect houses on the bridge, but he had to leave a passageway for foot traffic and horses. The priory maintained the bridge until 1393, when it pased to the city of Norwich.
Kett’ s Rebellion
In 1549 Robert Kett raised a rebellion to protest against enclosure of common land. Kett and up to 20,000 followers marched on Norwich. Guards on the bridge held out against them at first, then the rebels fired a cannonade at the bridge at the nearby Cow Tower. The top of the tower was damaged - you can still see the marks. The rebels then stormed the bridge and overwhelmed the defenders, making their way up Bishopgate, past the Great Hospital, and into the city itself.
A more peaceful visit occured in 1578 when Elizabeth I passed across Bishop Bridge on her way to visit the Earl of Surrey.
Over the central arch is a lion and castle, The arms of Norwich, a lion and castle, are carved over the central arch of the bridge. On the bank is the Red Lion pub, which takes its name from the lion insignia.
During the medieval period there was an execution and burial ground on the far side of the bridge called Lollard's Pit. Religious heretics such as Thomas Bilney were led across the bridge to the Pit, where they were burned at the stake.
From the western end of the bridge a public footpath leads north to Cow Tower, or south to Pull’ s Ferry, a picturesque 15th century building over a 12th century canal. Or you can follow in the footsteps of Rober Kett and take Bishopgate west to the Great Hospital and on to the Cathedral.
Have you seen the "trolls" underneath the bridge, and do you know anything about them? If so, please tell in the log
