Majapahit's Brickmaking: The Empire Built on Terracotta

Failed to add items

Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.

Add to basket failed.

Please try again later

Add to wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Remove from wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Adding to library failed

Please try again

Follow podcast failed

Unfollow podcast failed

Majapahit's Brickmaking: The Empire Built on Terracotta

Listen for free

View show details

When the Portuguese arrived in Java in the early 16th century, they described a ruined city of red brick—Trowulan, the former capital of the Majapahit Empire. This episode explores the empire's extraordinary brickmaking industry, which produced millions of standardized bricks for temples, canals, and city walls. We discuss the volcanic clay of the Brantas river basin, the kiln technology of the era, and the engineering behind structures like Candi Bajang Ratu and the Tikus bathing pool. Lucas and Luna consider how brickmaking shaped Majapahit's economy, with brickmakers organized into guilds and taxed by the state. We compare Javanese brickwork to contemporary Indian and Khmer techniques and examine how the porous volcanic brick decayed in the tropical climate, leaving Trowulan a ghost city. The episode also touches on the symbolic meaning of brick in Javanese cosmology—earth fired into permanence, a metaphor for the empire itself. A reflective conversation about the material foundations of power and the humble clay that built an empire. #Majapahit #Trowulan #Brickmaking #Terracotta #JavaneseArchitecture #BrantasRiver #CandiBajangRatu #CandiTikus #VolcanicClay #AncientEngineering #SoutheastAsianHistory #IndonesianHistory #FexingoHistory #HistoryPodcast #MedievalTechnology #ArchitectureHistory #MaterialCulture #EmpireBuilding Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

No reviews yet