A Brief History of Doors

The earliest recorded usage of doors dates back to ancient Egypt. Pharoahs had doors erected in their tombs in the style of both double and single doors. The climate there was dry, so the Egyptians most likely never felt the need to frame their doors like most of America does. The wood would have stayed relatively intact, the warm weather helping to shield it from warping. Most ancient doors were made of timber. The temple of King Solomon was made of olive wood, which was intricately carved and covered in gold leafing. Homer wrote about sets of doors encased in silver, and many ancient doors also used cedar, oak and elm. It’s clear the ancient civilizations had thoughts about what a door should do based on their makeup. Most of these early doors pivot thanks to pivots at the top and bottom of the piece. These pivots fit into sockets at the lintel and sill, creating a free-standing door that could open and close with a simple push. China is credited with the origins of the first automatic door, which used a foot-pedal style sensor to open on command. Emperor Yang of Sui had such a door installed in his imperial library. The first automatic gates were made in 1206, and the Arabic inventor Al-Jazari is credited with their invention. Bronze became a popular accent for doors, and many ancient structures that still stand have doors modeled on or restored after their originals.  The Hagia Sophia, for instance, features great bronze doors at the front of the structure. Source: ETO Doors has sold high end doors at reasonable prices since 2002. ETO Doors also offers a full selection of custom doors online. Visit ETO Doors Reviews online, or come to the 300,000 square foot showroom in the heart of Los Angeles.