Building Forcello: Etruscan wattle‐and‐daub technique in the Po Plain (Bagnolo San Vito, Mantua, northern Italy)

S Amicone,E Croce,G Vezzoli,L Castellano

doi:10.1111/arcm.12535

Abstract

The study analyses through an interdisciplinary approach the wattle‐and‐daub building technique used on the Po Plain of northern Italy, focusing on the archaeological evidence from the Etruscan site of Forcello, near Bagnolo San Vito (Mantua) (540–375 bce). Wattle and daub is widespread across different times and periods, and is particularly common in regions such as the Po Plain, where stone sources for construction are not immediately available. Thanks to a combined archaeometric, geological and anthracological study, the paper provides new insights on a fifth‐century bce building structure from Forcello. The findings reveal information on the life history of this feature, including its construction, maintenance and final destruction. The research also sheds a new light on the wattle‐and‐daub technique and on the interaction between people and the Po Plain Etruscan palaeoenvironment.

Highlights

The wattle-and-daub technique and its archaeological study Wattle and daub is a composite building material used for making walls
The combined interdisciplinary approach applied to the studied materials allows one to shed a new light on different aspects connected to the wattle-and-daub technique employed in the studied structure
The study of the different types of daub recognized and the anthracological investigation enable a better understanding of the use of landscape, local crafts traditions and the technological complexity of wattle and daub that is usually neglected in archaeological accounts

Summary

Introduction

The wattle-and-daub technique and its archaeological study Wattle and daub is a composite building material used for making walls. Wattle is the organic substructure of a wall constructed using materials such as wooden strips, sticks, reeds or bundle of straw, as well as other type of woodworks, such as planks or small beams. Wattle and daub requires consistent maintenance, owing to the perishability of the material used for its construction, except if built in environments with a dry climate. For this reason, this type of architecture is poorly preserved in European archaeological contexts, unless accidental or intentional firing events burnt the daub, preventing its dissolution into the matrix of the archaeological deposits

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