or pisé de terre
Building material made by compacting and drying a stiff mixture of clay, sand or other aggregate, and water.
It has been used by many civilizations. The most durable of the earth-building forms, it is formed into building blocks (see adobe ) or rammed within removable wooden forms in layers or lifts to construct walls. China's Erligang ( 0441; 1600 BC) is an example of a rammed-earth fortification; it covers an area of 1.2 sq mi (3.2 sq km) and may have taken 10,000 people more than 12 years to build.