Did ancient brickmakers really use straw as the Bible says?
Yes. Archaeologists working in the Middle East, as far back as perhaps the 1920s or 1930s, found that the ancients did make brick with straw. Straw served as part of the binding material, confirming the biblical account and silencing higher critics who had scoffed at such a practice.
Les explains that the higher critics scoffed at the idea of using straw to make bricks, asking who had ever heard of such a thing. But archaeologists, though often agnostics or atheists, reported what they found when it lined up with Scripture. As far back as maybe the 1920s or 1930s, archaeologists from Europe working in the Middle East found that the ancients did indeed make brick with straw. It was part of the binding material, and the critics were silenced. The Word of God is very true. In the Exodus account, instead of having others bring the elements for their concrete, mortar, and bricks, the people had to gather everything themselves while maintaining their production quota. The taskmasters told them Pharaoh would not give straw; they had to go get it themselves, yet none of their work was to be diminished.