Historian and archaeologist Angélica Moreira da Silva, 57, has organized São Paulo state's first 'brick library', cataloging 216 brick pieces in two volumes released in 2024 and 2025. The collection, from excavations at city historical sites, recounts the early industrialization of the region through brick markings and symbols.
Angélica Moreira da Silva, born in Sacomã in southern São Paulo, drew inspiration from a former French pottery in the neighborhood for her project. The 'brick library' classifies bricks unearthed in 1980s and 1990s excavations at sites including the Ramos de Azevedo building, the 1700 Morrinhos site, and Augusta park. "Bricks might seem commonplace and we overlook them, but they are historical artifacts just like indigenous ceramics," the archaeologist states.
The effort started in 2017 upon finding over 2,000 uncatalogued bricks at São Paulo's Archaeology Center. She created a methodology to sort them by description, weight, color, size, and printed symbols, drawing on period tax records and construction material references from the Tietê and Pinheiros river floodplains. Examples feature Sacoman Frerès pottery bricks from Marseille immigrants, marked with an anchor, and Bom Retiro ones used before 1907 on the site of the current Historical Archive.
Symbols such as stars, crescents, and a tailed star possibly referencing the 1910 Halley comet appear across buildings like the Casa do Grito and Pinacoteca. "I don't want bricks in dumpsters, but telling stories," Angélica says. Prior to this, she worked over 30 years as an archaeological analyst for São Paulo's Metro and interned at the Historic Heritage Department.
