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Taj Mahal
The walls of the Taj Mahal complex were constructed by building two parallel brick walls and filling the space between with broken bricks and stone.
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Shah Jahan summoned workers from all over the empire. Bricklayers, gardeners, stonemasons, and carpenters were among the thousands who flocked to the site. They were skilled and unskilled, men and women, Hindu and Muslim, and they all needed food, shelter, tools, and building materials.Work animals—elephants and big-horned water buffalo—had to be tended, fed, and trained, adding to the confusion of the worksite. A floating parade of heavily laden barges bearing wood, lime, and other building materials turned the Yamuna River into a construction highway. Carts rumbled along dusty roads carrying red sandstone from nearby quarries and marble from 200 miles away in Makrana. Smoke from many fires drifted into the air over Agra as workers hardened mud bricks and burned lime to make mortar. Swarms of builders turned bricks, mortar, and rubble into garden walls and buildings. Construction overseers were quick to strike with their long staffs to control the swirling activity and encourage cooperation. Despite the chaos, Hindustani building methods were fast and efficient. |
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