Which structural consequence was mitigated most effectively by layering different materials in ancient ziggurat construction?

💡 Explanation

When ziggurats experienced daily temperature swings, differential thermal expansion occured between their clay brick and mud mortar because of varying expansion coefficients. This induced cyclic stresses, leading to accumulative cracking. Therefore differential thermal expansion cracking, rather than settlement, stress or wind load was best mitigated through material selection since temperature changes were inevitable.

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