Earth mortars from pre-historic habitat settlements in south Portugal. Case studies

Abstract

Analyzing earth mortars from five archaeological habitat settlements in south Portugal allowed deepen the knowledge of some pre-historic building techniques and also contributed to the interpretation and reconstitution of those sites domestic structures. The analysed materials were composed by different types of earth traces: small clayish daub fragments coming from the renderings of two neolithic pits, from Defesa de Cima 2 (Évora); fragments of clayish mortars with branches prints, coming from covering and filling wood structures, from calcolithic settlement of São Pedro (Redondo, Évora); manual and perhaps moulded mudbricks, probably belonging to a wall adjacent to a surrounding moat, from calcolithic settlement of Alto do Outeiro (Beja); big fragments of a hut wall, probably made of stacked earth, from Alcalar calcolithic settlement (Portimão, Faro). Earth materials were burnt by fire, which permitted their conservation until nowadays.