Tracing Construction Phases at the Roman Villa Horta da Torre (Fronteira, Portugal): Insights from mortars aggregates

Mizuki Takahashi, Cristina Galacho, André Carneiro, Patrícia Moita

Abstract:

The Roman villa Horta da Torre, built around 3th-4th century A.D., is located at Cabeço de Vide (Fronteira, Portugal). To address the construction(s) phase(s), production technology and provenance of materials, a total of 18 samples of mortar walls were collected from Horta da Torre, including renders and fillers. A multi-analytical approach to study textural, and mineralogical features of the selected mortars was developed. This work suggests the existence of three construction phases based on their aggregates; gabbroic, granitic, and mixed, used as filling and render at the excavated pars urbana of the villa. study also revealed that the aggregates likely come from two local sources; gabbroic river sand from 2 km north of the site and granitic quarry/outcrops 3.5 km south of the site, whereas calcitic-lime raw material was available at a distance of within a kilometer of the site.
Download:

IMEKO-Metroarchaeo-2025-101.pdf
DOI:

tc26-2025.101

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