Typology Assessment of Burnt Clay Roof Tiles: A case of Ancient Burnt Clay Technology in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The building materials which are currently used have technology and development passing by different ancient history periods and many were started from the protohistoric period onward. This research focuses on ancient Sri Lankan clay roofing tiles to identify the status of the ancient’s technology and their development in order to come up with a current application that is viable for sustainability in the building construction industry which is able to support reducing cost-saving of energy consumption that using on air conditioning for inner building cooling purpose as well as a solution for mitigating a global warming problem. The artefacts prove ancient clay technology in Sri Lanka has a rich history and radiocarbon dating given the age of old tile as 2250 BP and from that onward it revolution by dramatically with the shapes and dimensions, properties improvement, advancing of production and burning process; the ancestors’ applied Nature Inspired Solution for tile design; and lastly, ancestors’ application of the top coating of glazed layer proved their ability to advance their application where currently is a concept to establish a sustainable construction.