Masonry oven India, tandoors are traditional clay ovens, although these days modern electrically fired tandoors are available. The open-topped tandoor is a transitional design between the earth oven and the Roman-plan masonry oven. In the precolumbian Americas, similar ovens were often made of clay or adobe and are now referred to by the Spanish term "horno" (meaning "oven"). Horns are also traditional in the American Southwest. The traditional direct-fired masonry design is often called a "Roman" or "black" oven and dates in Western culture to at least the Roman Republic. It is known as a black oven because the fire generates soot
Ceramic houses a clay structure water resistant. Ceramic kilns often outlive the earth constructed buildings they are close to. The materials for this type of building are accessible to those with very basic resources. Fuel for firing is the most expensive investment. The hardened membrane of a ceramic dome improves resistance to earthquakes. The structure of a ceramic house improves passive heat use through thermal mass. Added benefits involving the firing process include the opportunity to produce other ceramic goods for use or income, and, when firing an existing house, pest evacuation will occur naturally. Experimental fired earth housing has also been