Marble faced buildings

[Lost_Warrior]

Many of the more upscale buildings in Ancient Rome were faced with marble (from what I can discern this was usually done over brick). Where and when did this practice originate? And how was the marble attached? (one description of a building in Ostia states "brick faced concrete covered in marble". Would this be a layer of concrete, embedded with bricks, then another layer of concrete to hold the marble?)

[Segestan]

A typical wall would be framed with studs and then blocked between the standing studs, in other words the wood framed wall had 'windows' framed in over the whole framed area, then stone blocks and mortar , such as in a road , would be placed between the studs inside those windowed places in the walled block areas, with a final finish layer of mortar coat to allow a smooth finish for paint or marble over . I would imagine marble would have to have been pegged and set in place in wet concret points to be anchored on the wall. I have no idea when such a technique originated.

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

I'd say that your best source on the subject would probably be Vitruvius, you should take a look in it ( it's availlable in many traductions including english ones on the web ).

 

As for dates the practice is probably greek, but more marble built than marble faced. Roman use of the technique could go as far back as the third century bc but i'd say that 1st century BC is more probable for regular use, with a massive increase in such buildings during the 1st century AD with the many imperial built buildings in the empire.

[Maladict]

From Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities:

The practice of putting a facing of marble over a wall of a commoner material was introduced in the next period of architectural history. The first example of it, according to Pliny (H.N. XXXVI.6 s6), was in the palace of Mausolus, the walls of which were of brick, faced with slabs (crustae) of Proconnesian marble (about B.C. 360).

[Maladict]

And how was the marble attached? (one description of a building in Ostia states "brick faced concrete covered in marble". Would this be a layer of concrete, embedded with bricks, then another layer of concrete to hold the marble?)

 

The marble slabs were usually attached to the walls using mortar and iron clamps. How exactly this was done is still a matter of debate.

For example, http://www.ajaonline.org/index.php?ptype=content&aid=109

[Lost_Warrior]

A typical wall would be framed with studs and then blocked between the standing studs, in other words the wood framed wall had 'windows' framed in over the whole framed area, then stone blocks and mortar , such as in a road , would be placed between the studs inside those windowed places in the walled block areas, with a final finish layer of mortar coat to allow a smooth finish for paint or marble over .

 

How many of these wood studded walls survive today? Wouldn't the wood eventually rot, weakening and breaking down the structure of the wall over time? (or, conversely, did the stone and mortar preserve the wood by protecting it from the elements?)

 

I'm also curious, as I'm not running across any pictures at the moment (although I've found many beautiful marble arches and buildings that were *once* marble faced), were the iron clamps visible on the finished building?

[Northern Neil]

I'm also curious, as I'm not running across any pictures at the moment (although I've found many beautiful marble arches and buildings that were *once* marble faced), were the iron clamps visible on the finished building?

I believe they were. Although not faced in marble, the clamps holding the dressed stone of the Flavian Amphitheatre were very visible, and one can still see the small holes (like staple holes) where the iron clamps used to be. I suspect that on marble buildings the clamps must have been whitewashed or otherwise waterproofed, to prevent unsightly orange streaks running down the marble.

[Northern Neil]

I'm also curious, as I'm not running across any pictures at the moment (although I've found many beautiful marble arches and buildings that were *once* marble faced), were the iron clamps visible on the finished building?

I believe they were. Although not faced in marble, the clamps holding the dressed stone of the Flavian Amphitheatre were very visible, and one can still see the small holes (like staple holes) where the iron clamps used to be. I suspect that on marble buildings the clamps must have been whitewashed or otherwise waterproofed, to prevent unsightly orange streaks running down the marble.