Analytical characterisation of 1st- and 2nd-century Roman mortars at the Utica archaeological site (Tunisia): Construction phases and provenance of the raw materials

The aim of this paper is to characterise the mortars from at the Roman site in Utica, Tunisia. In-depth knowledge of the composition of these Roman mortars is necessary to ensure the proper restoration and preservation of these ancient monuments. Despite the significance of this archaeological site,...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Fort González, Rafael, Varas Muriel, María Josefa, Zoghlami, Karima, Ergenc, Duygu, Zaddem, A.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/101523
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/101523
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:666.971.3“652”(611)
Raw materials
Provenance
Petrography
Isotope
Roman mortars
Pozzolans
Petrología
3312.08 Propiedades de Los Materiales
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spelling Analytical characterisation of 1st- and 2nd-century Roman mortars at the Utica archaeological site (Tunisia): Construction phases and provenance of the raw materialsFort González, RafaelVaras Muriel, María JosefaZoghlami, KarimaErgenc, DuyguZaddem, A.666.971.3“652”(611)Raw materialsProvenancePetrographyIsotopeRoman mortarsPozzolansPetrología3312.08 Propiedades de Los MaterialesThe aim of this paper is to characterise the mortars from at the Roman site in Utica, Tunisia. In-depth knowledge of the composition of these Roman mortars is necessary to ensure the proper restoration and preservation of these ancient monuments. Despite the significance of this archaeological site, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, the Roman construction materials used there, particularly the mortars have never been analysed. The findings of this study allowed us to determine the particularities of the Roman mortars in Utica, highlighting the impact that local know-how, geological specificity and the history of the archaeological site had on the end product. The different mortars were analysed using petrographic (optical polarised and electron microscopes), mineralogical (X-ray diffraction), chemical and physical techniques. Three types of joint and coating mortars, associated with two different construction phases and a variety of uses, were identified. The mortars used in the city's first construction phase were low-hydraulicity calcium lime mortars containing inert quartz aggregates. Those related to the city's second phase of construction, are two types of mortar with a greater degree of hydraulicity by virtue of their artificial and natural pozzolanic aggregate content. The lime mortars containing artificial pozzolans (cocciopesto) were coated with lime mortars containing natural volcanic pozzolans. The foreign provenance of the natural and artificial pozzolans may be attributable to the amount of trade that passed through the Roman city’s port in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.ElsevierUniversidad Complutense de Madrid20242024-01-0120242024-01-01journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501VoRhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/101523reponame:Docta Complutenseinstname:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)InglésengBIA2014-53911-R Not available Not availableP2018 NMT-4372 Not availableopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/1015232026-06-02T12:44:21Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Analytical characterisation of 1st- and 2nd-century Roman mortars at the Utica archaeological site (Tunisia): Construction phases and provenance of the raw materials
title Analytical characterisation of 1st- and 2nd-century Roman mortars at the Utica archaeological site (Tunisia): Construction phases and provenance of the raw materials
spellingShingle Analytical characterisation of 1st- and 2nd-century Roman mortars at the Utica archaeological site (Tunisia): Construction phases and provenance of the raw materials
Fort González, Rafael
666.971.3“652”(611)
Raw materials
Provenance
Petrography
Isotope
Roman mortars
Pozzolans
Petrología
3312.08 Propiedades de Los Materiales
title_short Analytical characterisation of 1st- and 2nd-century Roman mortars at the Utica archaeological site (Tunisia): Construction phases and provenance of the raw materials
title_full Analytical characterisation of 1st- and 2nd-century Roman mortars at the Utica archaeological site (Tunisia): Construction phases and provenance of the raw materials
title_fullStr Analytical characterisation of 1st- and 2nd-century Roman mortars at the Utica archaeological site (Tunisia): Construction phases and provenance of the raw materials
title_full_unstemmed Analytical characterisation of 1st- and 2nd-century Roman mortars at the Utica archaeological site (Tunisia): Construction phases and provenance of the raw materials
title_sort Analytical characterisation of 1st- and 2nd-century Roman mortars at the Utica archaeological site (Tunisia): Construction phases and provenance of the raw materials
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Fort González, Rafael
Varas Muriel, María Josefa
Zoghlami, Karima
Ergenc, Duygu
Zaddem, A.
author Fort González, Rafael
author_facet Fort González, Rafael
Varas Muriel, María Josefa
Zoghlami, Karima
Ergenc, Duygu
Zaddem, A.
author_role author
author2 Varas Muriel, María Josefa
Zoghlami, Karima
Ergenc, Duygu
Zaddem, A.
author2_role author
author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Universidad Complutense de Madrid
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv 666.971.3“652”(611)
Raw materials
Provenance
Petrography
Isotope
Roman mortars
Pozzolans
Petrología
3312.08 Propiedades de Los Materiales
topic 666.971.3“652”(611)
Raw materials
Provenance
Petrography
Isotope
Roman mortars
Pozzolans
Petrología
3312.08 Propiedades de Los Materiales
description The aim of this paper is to characterise the mortars from at the Roman site in Utica, Tunisia. In-depth knowledge of the composition of these Roman mortars is necessary to ensure the proper restoration and preservation of these ancient monuments. Despite the significance of this archaeological site, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, the Roman construction materials used there, particularly the mortars have never been analysed. The findings of this study allowed us to determine the particularities of the Roman mortars in Utica, highlighting the impact that local know-how, geological specificity and the history of the archaeological site had on the end product. The different mortars were analysed using petrographic (optical polarised and electron microscopes), mineralogical (X-ray diffraction), chemical and physical techniques. Three types of joint and coating mortars, associated with two different construction phases and a variety of uses, were identified. The mortars used in the city's first construction phase were low-hydraulicity calcium lime mortars containing inert quartz aggregates. Those related to the city's second phase of construction, are two types of mortar with a greater degree of hydraulicity by virtue of their artificial and natural pozzolanic aggregate content. The lime mortars containing artificial pozzolans (cocciopesto) were coated with lime mortars containing natural volcanic pozzolans. The foreign provenance of the natural and artificial pozzolans may be attributable to the amount of trade that passed through the Roman city’s port in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.
publishDate 2024
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2024
2024-01-01
2024
2024-01-01
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv journal article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
VoR
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/101523
url https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/101523
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv BIA2014-53911-R Not available Not available
P2018 NMT-4372 Not available
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Docta Complutense
instname:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
instname_str Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
reponame_str Docta Complutense
collection Docta Complutense
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15.300719

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