Brick is the oldest building material except stone and wood. A cob brick with added sliced straw served as a constructional material in many ancient countries. Using of burnt brick is also dated from ancient times (it was utilized in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Ancient Rome in 3-2 century B.C.). First brick constructions in Russia (fortified walls, temples, towers and stoves) appeared in IV century. Then, in XI-XII centuries, thin and very heavy plates of different sizes («plinphes») were used and in XV century a modern bar-shaped brick has appeared. That time is associated with the flourishing of «brick craft». In 1475 the architect Aristotle Fioravanti was invited into Moscow from Italy to build the Kremlin. The paper is devoted to the history of brick as an ancient building material and to the birth of brick collection.
