Water consumption in Roman lime mortar construction: a calculating method
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/arq.arqt.2022.008Keywords:
Ancient construction, lime mortar, Roman concrete, economics of construction, water consumptionAbstract
Roman concrete is one of the areas of Ancient construction which has drawn the most attention. Many studies have been devoted to the technical and chemical properties of concrete and the economics of the Roman construction industry. In these studies, the role of water is always acknowledged as very important and it is usually indicated that water was consumed in large quantities. And while many calculations of the number of man-hours, lime, stone, timber, and other materials have been done, there has been no approach to calculate the necessary volume of water. In this paper, I propose a set of proportions, derived from written sources, modern recommendations, and scientific analyses which are contrasted with experimental results, from which to derive an approximation of the volume of water that was necessary in Ancient Roman mortar construction. This will be a helpful calculation method for future studies on ancient building economics and the practicalities of mortar construction.
Downloads
References
Adam, J.-P. 1994 [1989]: Roman Building. Materials and Techniques. Batsford, London.
Berry, J. 1997: "The conditions of domestic life in Pompeii in AD 79: a case-study of Houses 11 and 12, Insula 9, Region I", Papers of the British School at Rome, 65, pp. 103-125. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068246200010606
Bonen, D., Tasdemir, M., and Sarkar, S. 1994: "The evolution of cementitious materials through history", Material Research Society Symposium Proceedings, 370, pp. 159-168. https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-370-159
Brune, P. 2010: The Mechanics of Imperial Roman Concrete and the Structural Design of Vaulted Monuments. Doctoral dissertation, Universidad de Rochester.
Brune, P., Perucchio, R., Ingraffea, A., and Jackson, M. 2010: "The toughness of imperial Roman concrete", in B. H. Oh, O. C. Choi, and L. Chung (eds.), Fracture Mechanics of Concrete and Concrete Structures: Recent Advances in Fracture Mechanics of Concrete, pp. 38-45. Korea Concrete Institute, Seoul.
Bukhari, S., McElligott, A., and Parkes, R. 2021: "Quantifying the impact of mounted load carrying on equids", Animals, 5, pp. 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051333 PMid:34067208 PMCid:PMC8151148
Camporeale, S. 2010: "Military building techniques in Mauretania Tingitana: the use of mortar and rubble at Thamusida (Sidi Ali ben Ahmed, Morocco)", in Å. Ringbom, and R. L. Hohlfelder (eds.), Building Roma Aeterna: Current Research on Roman Mortar and Concrete. Commentationes Humanarum Litterarum 128, pp. 169-186. Societas Scientiarum Fennica, Helsinki.
Cazalla Vázquez, O. 2002: Morteros de cal. Aplicación en el patrimonio histórico. Doctoral dissertation, Universidad de Granada.
Dapena García, J. E. 2009: Materiales pétreos de construcción. Escuela Universitaria de Ingeniería Técnica de Obras Públicas, Madrid.
DeLaine, J. 1997: The Baths of Caracalla: a Study in the Design, Construction and Economics of Large-Scale Building Projects in Imperial Rome. JRA supplement series 25. Journal of Roman Archaeology, Portsmouth.
DeLaine, J. 2017: "Quantifying manpower and the cost of construction in Roman building projects: research perspectives", Archeologia dell'Architettura, 22, pp. 13-19.
Dix, B. 1982: "The manufacture of lime and its uses in the Western Roman provinces", Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 1.3, pp. 331-346. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0092.1982.tb00318.x
Gárate, I. 2002: Artes de la cal. Instituto Español de Arquitectura, Madrid.
Goldsworthy, H., and Zhu, M. 2009: "Mortar studies towards the replication of Roman concrete", Archaeometry, 51.6, pp. 932-946. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4754.2009.00450.x
Gros, P. 2013: "L'opus signinum selon Vitruve et dans la terminologie archéologique contemporaine", in P. Gros (ed.), Vitruve et la tradition des traités d'Architecture. Cóllection de l'École Française de Rome 366, pp. 473-484. Académie de France à Rome, Rome. https://doi.org/10.4000/books.efr.2522
Harper, E. 1934: "Lime slaking", Journal of the American Water Works Association, 26.6, pp. 750-756. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1551-8833.1934.tb19413.x
Henning, J., McCormick, M., Olmo Enciso, L., Rassman, K., and Fikrit, E. 2019: "Reccopolis revealed: first geomagnetic mapping of the early medieval Visigothic royal town", Antiquity, 93(369), pp. 735-751. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2019.66
Hobbs, L., and Siddall, R. 2010: "Cementitious materials of the Ancient World", in Å. Ringbom and R. Hohlfelder (eds.), Building Roma Aeterna: Current Research on Roman Mortar and Concrete. Commentationes Humanarum Litterarum 128, pp. 35-59. Societas Archeologica Fennica, Helsinki.
Hohfelder, R. L., Brandon, C., and Oleson, J. P. 2007: "Constructing the harbour of Caesarea Palaestina, Israel: new evidence from the ROMACONS field campaign of october 2005", International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 36.2, pp. 409-415. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-9270.2007.00156.x
Hughes, D., S. Swann, and A. Gardner. 2007: "Roman cement: part two: stucco and decorative elements, a conservation strategy", Journal of Architectural Conservation 13.3, pp. 41-58. https://doi.org/10.1080/13556207.2007.10785008
Jackson, M., and Marra, F. 2006. "Roman stone masonry: volcanic foundations of the Ancient City", American Journal of Archaeology 110.3, pp. 403-436. https://doi.org/10.3764/aja.110.3.403
Jackson, M., Logan, J. M., Scheetz, B. E., Deocampo, D. M., Cawood, C. G., Marra, F., Vitti, M., and Ungaro, L. 2009: "Assessment of material characteristics of ancient concretes, Grande Aula, Markets of Trajan, Rome", Journal of Archaeological Science, 36, pp. 2481-2492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2009.07.011
Lancaster, L. 2005: Concrete Vaulted Construction in Imperial Rome. Innovations in Context. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511610516
Lechtman, H., and Hobbs, L. 1987: "Roman concrete and the Roman architectural revolution", in W. Kingery (ed.), High-Technology Ceramics: Past, Present, and Future-The Nature of Innovation and Change in Ceramic Technology, pp. 81-128. The American Ceramic Society, Westerville.
Lynch, G. 2017. "Hot lime mortars for traditionally constructed brickwork", Building Limes Forum Journal, 27, pp. 38-49.
Margalha, M. G., Santos Silva, A., Veiga, M., Brito, J., Ball, R., and Allen, G. 2013: "Microstructural changes of lime putty during aging", Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 25, pp. 1524-1532. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0000687
Martínez Jiménez, J. 2015. "A preliminary study on the aqueduct of Reccopolis", Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 34.3, pp. 301-320. https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.12060
Martínez Jiménez, J. 2020: "Water in ancient construction", in E. Sánchez López (ed.), The Role of Water in Production Processes in Antiquity, Panel 3.19. Archaeology and Economy in the Ancient World 21, pp. 11-20. Propylaeum, Heidelberg.
Mille, P., and Rollet, P. 2020: "Étude de trois grands tonneaux mis au jour à Reims/Durocortorum (Marne) : le savoir-faire des tonneliers antiques", Gallia, 77.2, pp. 123-155. https://doi.org/10.4000/gallia.5242
Mogetta, M. 2013: The Origins of Concrete in Rome and Pompeii. Doctoral dissertation, Universidad de Michigan.
Mold, P., and Godbey, R. 2005: "Limewash: compatible coverings for masonry and stucco", in International Building Lime Symposium 2005. Orlando, Florida, March 9-11, 2005, pp. 1-11. International Building Lime Symposium, Orlando.
Morgan, G. 1992. Romano-British Plasters and Mortars. Doctoral dissertation, Universidad de Leicester.
Oguz, C., Turker, F., and Kockal, N. U. 2014: "Construction materials used in the historical Roman era bath in Myra", The Scientific World Journal, s/n, pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/536105 PMid:25089290 PMCid:PMC4098611
Oleson, J. P. 2010: "Harena sine calce: Building disasters, incompetent architects, and construction fraud in Ancient Rome", in Å. Ringbom, and R. L. Hohlfelder (eds.), Building Roma Aeterna: Current Research on Roman Mortar and Concrete. Commentationes Humanarum Litterarum 128, pp. 9-27. Societas Scientiarum Fennica, Helsinki.
Oleson, J. P., Brandon, C., Cramer, S., Cucitore, R., Gotti, E., and Hohlfelder, R. 2004: "The ROMACONS Project: a contribution to the historical and engineering analysis of hydraulic concrete in Roman maritime structures", International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 33.2, pp. 199-229. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-9270.2004.00020.x
Pötzl, C., Siegesmund, S., López-Doncel, R., and Dohrmann, R. 2022: "Key parameters of volcanic tuffs used as building stone: a statistical approach", Environmental and Earth Sciences, 81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-022-10530-6
Pozo Antonio, S. 2015: "Evolution of mechanical properties and drying shrinkage in lime-based and lime cement-based mortars with pure limestone aggregate", Construction and Building Materials, 77, pp. 472-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.12.115
Rubio Bardon, C. 2011: "Los materiales de construcción en Los diez libros de arquitectura de Vitruvio", Cahiers des études anciennes, 48, pp. 61-87.
Sánchez López, E., and Martínez Jiménez, J. 2016: Los acueductos de Hispania. Construcción y abandono. Fundación Juanelo Turriano, Madrid.
Sánchez Moral, S., Luque, L., Cañaveras, J. C., Soler, V., García Guinea, J., and Aparicio, A. 2005: "Lime-pozzolana mortars in Roman catacombs: composition, structures and restoration", Cement and Concrete Research, 35.8, pp. 1555-1565. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2004.08.009
Sánchez, J., Barrios, J., Barrios, Á., and de Arellano, A. 1997: "La retracción en los morteros de cal", Materiales de construcción, 47(245), pp. 17-28. https://doi.org/10.3989/mc.1997.v47.i245.511
Sear, F. 2008 [1982]: Roman Architecture. Routledge, Londres.
Serlorenzi, M., and Camporeale, S. 2017: "Anatomia di un muro romano: dati preliminari sullo smontaggio e quantificazione di alcune strutture in laterizio di epoca adrianea dallo scavo di Piazza Dante a Roma", Archeologia dell'Architettura 22, pp. 21-34.
Siddall, R. 2010: "From kitchen to bathhouse: the use of waste ceramics as pozzolanic additives in Roman mortars", in Å. Ringbom, and R. L. Hohlfelder (eds.), Building Roma Aeterna: Current Research on Roman Mortar and Concrete. Commentationes Humanarum Litterarum 128, pp. 152-168. Societas Scientiarum Fennica, Helsinki
Snyder, J. R. 2020: "From forest to trowel: the economics of mortar production in late antiquity" in C. Courault, and C. Márquez (eds.), Quantitative Studies and Production Cost of Roman Public Construction, pp. 471-503. Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba.
Uğurlu Sağın, E., Engin Duran, H., and Böke, H. 2021: "Lime mortar technology in ancient eastern Roman provinces", Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103132
UNILAD, 2021: Making Roman style concrete. [Online content, consulted 11/11/2021].
Van Oyen, A. 2017: "Finding the material in 'material culture'. Form and matter in Roman concrete", in A. Van Oyen and M. Pitts (eds.), Materialising Roman Histories, pp. 133-154. Oxbow, Oxford. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1v2xtgh
Wright, G. 2005: Ancient Building Technology. Technology and Change in History 7.1. Brill, Leiden
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) - Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
© CSIC. © UPV/EHU. Manuscripts published in both the print and online versions of this journal are the property of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas and Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.
All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. You may read the basic information and the legal text of the licence. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 licence must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the final version of the work produced by the publisher, is not allowed.
Funding data
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
Grant numbers PID2019.106686GA.I00
Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Grant numbers PID2019.106686GA.I00
