Cob is the British name for what is essentially adobe (from Arabic, "al toba," meaning "the mud;" "cob" is the Anglo-Saxon word for "lump," and is also used to describe round loaves of bread, or small, compact horses). As the most common building material on the planet, earth, clay and "cob" construction have become increasingly popular among people interested in simpler, less environmentally destructive materials and methods. Wood-fired ovens make popular starter projects, which has generated a large number of "cob oven" projects, many of them documented on the web.