The Roman and late antique site of Montessoro (Isola del Cantone – Genova): A case study of the wattle and daub construction technique

Abstract

Archaeological excavations at the site of Montessoro (660 m. a.sl.), carried out between 2009 and 2013 by the Department of Christian and Medieval Archaeology (University of Turin – Department of the Historical Studies) and currently under publication, have led to the large-scale exploration of a rural Apennine site which was inhabited between the first century BC and the fifth century AD. The late antique phase, which is the best-preserved, consists of five farm buildings made using a masonry base bound with clay, with an elevation in lathwork and a roof made of cover and pan tiles. The systematic study of almost 600 clay fragments, some of them large and mainly from the collapse levels caused by the fire in the granary, with negative impressions of plant material, has enabled considerable information to be obtained about the technique of wattle and daub used to construct the elevations: the morphology and arrangement of the wooden parts (horizontal and vertical), related to the woven lattice of the lathwork and the load-bearing structure, and the mixing and application of clay and plaster. This work, associated with a thorough analysis of the plentiful wood charcoal remains (carried out by Prof. Lanfredo Castelletti and Dr. Sila Motella – Museo Civico P. Giovio di Como), has yielded data about the choice and working of the plants and trees used for the construction of elevations and all the structural parts, enabling a fairly precise reconstruction of the buildings and the socio-economic and cultural context of the site.