History of construction

Few things are more fascinating than how humans have changed the world around them. Mankind has constructed buildings and other structures since prehistory. The History of Construction is not limited to buildings but covers bridges, amphitheatres, dams, electricity pylons, road and canals to give just a few examples. Today we take the incredible feats of engineering very much for granted but virtually all of the building materials we use today have a long history and some of the structures built thousands of years ago without the aid of modern technology still have the ability to amaze. The history of construction is related to, but not identical with, the history of structural engineering. To understand why things were constructed the way they were, we also need to rely on archaeology to record the form of the parts that survive and the tools they used, economic history to inform us of how much they cost, social history to tell us about how the builders lived, and architectural history to tell us about the books and writings of the builders. It is a huge subject, but one that should interest anyone who wants to know more about how and why the built world around them is the way it is.