At General Shale our interest in brick includes an historic perspective. We're extremely proud of the General Shale Museum of Ancient Brick. Over the past 33 years our curator has assembled an extensive collection that includes bricks from biblical and pre-biblical times. Represented are centuries old samples from ancient Egypt, Jerusalem, Nimrud, Ur, and fortresses including Hattusas, the mountain stronghold of the Hittites. Our prize possession, however, is a three pound sun-dried clay unit that is between nine and ten thousand years old—one of the few bricks removed by archeologists from a settlement discovered beneath the ancient city of Jericho. About three hundred years younger is a cigar shaped brick found at another settlement. This unit, made of sun-dried mud mixed with small pieces of stone, contains impressions made by the brick maker's thumbs. These impressions would have permitted the mud mortar to bind more tightly to the brick. Our collection also features a perfect 2nd century Roman pilaster brick from the caldarium (steam room) of a large bathhouse in what was Tripontium. We are continually fascinated to discover how universal brick construction was and how strong it is. Studying brick thousands of years old assures us that brick provides lasting beauty that will withstand the test of time. Our museum is located in our corporate office building at 3015 Bristol Highway, Johnson City, TN and is open to the public M – F, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.