Abstract:
In southern Portugal over one hundred Roman villae have been
identified; such villae are examples of typical Roman rural construction and have
led to the characterisation of a particular type of territorial occupation of Roman
society. This paper presents the results of the physico-chemical characterization of
the Roman mortars sourced from the archaeological site of the villa of Pisões (IIV
century A.D.), 6 km south of Beja (Alentejo), approximately 230 km southeast
of Lisbon. Several samples were extracted from various locations within the villa,
including the residential area, with its well preserved mosaics, and the thermal
baths, which are indicative of the importance of this rural structure. Full chemicalmineralogical
characterisation was carried out and the investigations led to the
conclusion that the mortars were composed of aerial calcitic lime with quartz,
schistose and granitoid aggregates (extracted from local quarries) and artificial
pozzolanic materials (brick powder and fragments). The survival of these mortars,
for more than eighteen centuries, is a testament to the careful selection of the
materials that ensured their strength and durability.
