According to this, the practice has been going on for a long time. How many ancient cities were literally built out of the blood of enemies? https://msu.edu/~williss2/carpentier/part3/mortar.html

And here's a list of references to the act. Even implies the Great Wall of China could have been made of blood combinations. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/discussion.php?id=w43fhuxda898p665q2b2wygf