Engineering has been a part of life since the beginning of time. To begin learning about the rich historical heritage of civil engineers, we must go back to the dawn of civilization. Irrigators, architects, and military engineers were among the first engineers. Typically, the same man was expected to be an expert at all three types of work. Civil engineering may have begun between 4000 and 2000 BC in ancient Egypt, the Indus Valley civilization, and Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq), when humans began to abandon a nomadic existence, necessitating the construction of shelter. Thousands of years later, during the Renaissance, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Durer were not only outstanding engineers but also outstanding artists.
Only in the last two or three centuries has specialization developed within the engineering profession. When humans abandoned the nomadic way of life after 4000 B.C., the need for water, permanent shelter, religious monuments, burial sites, and fortification arose. Canal systems were required to irrigate surrounding land so that farmers could raise enough food to support the population in early river valley civilizations such as those around the Tigris and Euphrates (Mesopotamia), Nile (Egypt), Indus (India), and Hwang-ho (China). Kings or rulers desired houses larger than stone, clay, or reed huts, and priests desired homes for the gods that were at least as grand. Walls and moats were needed to protect the growing wealth of these early settlements. These were the problems that the first engineers had to deal with.
Although some early writing on stone and brick has survived in Mesopotamia and Egypt, other written accounts of ancient engineering in those areas have perished. The same can be said for the documentation of ancient Persian, Indian, and Chinese engineering feats. Because of the scarcity of written accounts, we know a lot more about ancient Greek and Roman engineering. Around the year 100 B.C., several Greek writers compiled lists of the seven most magnificent engineering feats they were aware of.
1. Great Pyramid at Giza, Egypt
2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Mesopotamia
3. Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Greece
4. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, modern Turkey
5. Tomb of King Mausolos of Karia at Halikarnassos, Greece
6. Colossus of Rhodes, Mediterranean
7. Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt
Beginning of the Egyptian Pyramids
Imhotep, the first engineer/architect known by name, appeared around 2,700 B.C. Imhotep was a brilliant builder, physician, statesman, writer, and all-around sage. Together with his ruler, he set about improving the traditional tomb so that raiders would have a harder time breaking in. He and the king began with a stone tomb that was 200′ on a side and 26′ high, rather than rectangular. Several changes were made, and the tomb was enlarged by adding stone to the sides.
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The king decided to build another level on top of the first before the second enlargement was completed. He changed his mind several times more, and Imhotep’s final tomb was composed of six stages of decreasing size, or levels, arranged over a burial chamber—the first step pyramid.
Successive generations of Egyptian kings also built step pyramids, which were eventually filled in, resulting in true straight-sided pyramids. The largest of these was constructed around 2,500 B.C. near Giza, a town on the Nile River’s west bank, just upstream from Cairo.
Stonehenge
Stonehenge was built more than 5,000 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating. Stonehenge draws a diverse range of visitors interested in archaeology, astronomy, meteorology, sacred geography, geomancy, and shamanism.
To begin to explain something created by Neolithic (Stone) Age people, knowledge from all of these fields is required. Stonehenge served as the focal point of a culture that thrived on the Salisbury plain in what is now western England. Sarsen Stones, the tallest uprights and lintels weighing 50 tons each, were transported over 20 miles from Fyfield Down.
Origin of Indian Engineering
Indians built domes and arches with post-and-lintel construction. Instead of mortar, Indian builders preferred to join large stones with iron dowels. Indeed, ancient
The secret to good steel was known to the Indians. Indian steel was widely exported during the Roman period. Then, and later, Indian steel made its way to Damascus, where it was fashioned into sword blades known for their strength and durability.
The Iron Pillar of Delhi, built around 415 A.D., was a 24-foot shaft topped with a man bird statue, Vishnu’s steed. The figure has vanished, but the column has not. Around the same time, Indians were building iron-chained suspension bridges.
Indian monasteries were either built in tiers up mountainsides or consisted of numerous cells built around a compound. The stupa housed the relics of Buddhist saints. In addition, there was a symbolic gateway on each of the four sides of the base. Some stupas, such as those in Sri Lanka, were very grand, with domes 300 feet in diameter and overall heights of 250 feet. The foundations of one such stupa were built in the second century B. C. out of layers of stone, clay, and iron, all compacted by elephants wearing leather boots.
Origin of Persian Engineering
Cyrus the Great established the Persian Empire around 550 B.C. The Persians spread building ideas, such as an irrigation system, far and wide. A ghanat, one of their innovations, was widely adopted. A ghanat is a slanted tunnel that transports water from an underground source in a hill range to a dry plain below. Evaporation losses are lower than in an open-air aqueduct. Today, the ghanat system is still used in the Middle East and North Africa. The Persians also accomplished great feats in military bridge construction.
Origin of Greek Engineering
Archimedes’ work in the third century B.C. is one of the earliest examples of a scientific approach to physical and mathematical problems applicable to civil engineering. Archimedes’ Principle still informs our understanding of buoyancy and provides practical solutions, such as Archimedes’ screw, which can be used in irrigation to transfer water from a lower source (lake, creek, river) to a higher level (ditch, canal).
Origin of Roman Engineering
The Romans invested more resources than their predecessors in the construction of useful public works, including aqueducts, harbors, bathhouses, markets, bridges, dams, and roads. Some scholars argue that Rome made little contribution to pure science; however, Roman genius was more concerned with pragmatism. Outstanding Roman statesmen, soldiers, administrators, and jurists built on the scientific discoveries and artistic creations of others.
Roman engineering is primarily concerned with civil engineering. The Romans developed new building methods, which lasted nearly 800 years, beginning with the early years of the Empire’s expansion in the 4th century B.C.
Origin of Chinese Engineering
China had many building materials at its disposal, unlike the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia, who were limited to clay bricks. Stone foundations were common, with wood and occasionally brick superstructures topped by clay tile roofs. The Chinese were also aware of the barrel vault and used wood post-and-lintel construction, but not the truss. The Chinese had discovered how to make cast iron by the 4th century B.C. From the 10th to the 15th century A.D., the Chinese built pagodas, memorial towers adjacent to temples derived from the stupa form, entirely of cast iron. They also used bamboo fiber cables to support suspension bridges.
Origin of African Engineering
There was no pan-African architectural style due to the wide variation in climate and landscape. Banco, a wet-clay process similar to coil pottery, and other readily available building materials stones, wood, grass, and animal skins were used in construction. Homestead and village clusters reflected social structures and functions. Each family unit had its own grinding house and granary, stable, and beer store, which were all connected by straight or enclosing walls.
Origin of American Engineering
To protect themselves from the cold and wind, the first Americans built stone domes braced with whalebone, igloos made of snow and ice, gabled cedar houses, and partially sunken pit houses. Flood irrigation systems dating back several centuries B.C. have been discovered in the Southwest of the United States.
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