Characterisation of roman mortars from the historical town of Mertola

Abstract

Ancient mortars from two Mertola’s important Roman monuments, the River Tower and the Cryptoportic, were characterized by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric and chemical analyses. The results show that all mortars are calcitic aerial lime mortars and that the aggregates are composed of quartzitic river sand and crushed schist. Samples from the River Tower and particularly sample taken from the outer layer of the Cryptoportic show the presence of crushed ceramics and neoformation pozzolanic reaction compounds.