Abstract
Architectural Terracotta (ATC) is one of the most common materials in excavations from the Roman period. These ceramic building materials are an essential component of construction. Some of these pieces show potter´s marks, of different categories, that allow access to the production world of these materials. This investigation is a first typological classification of the 1216 marks from ATC materials, collected from 41 archaeological sites in Bracara Augusta (Braga, Portugal). Most of the marks were collected from the domus of Carvalheiras, one of the most emblematic archaeological sites of the city, currently under a musealization process. With this work it was possible to correlate the studied marks with specific terracotta types (shapes), context distribution and associated chronologies. The results suggested an organized and dynamic production, and an open-market, supported by numerous officinae, certainly of different sizes. Some of them were located near the housing area and reveal the presence of a large number of workers, including women and children. Further approaches on mineralogical, chemical and technological characterization of ATC, linked with stratigraphy, are under development.
Highlights
French archaeologists that study the Roman and Medieval periods use the term “ATC: Architectural Terracotta (ATC)”, to designate roof tiles, bricks, pipes, circular, semicircular and quarter-circle bricks, and other elements associated with the building of thermal spaces [1]
The analysis was based on a vast dataset of 1216 element within which we have individualized 847 distinct marks, which we classified into nin types
More than 90% of the marks collected belong to the group of finger‐made mar
Summary
French archaeologists that study the Roman and Medieval periods use the term “ATC: Architectural Terracotta (ATC)”, to designate roof tiles (tegulae and imbrices), bricks, pipes, circular, semicircular and quarter-circle bricks, and other elements associated with the building of thermal spaces [1] These ceramic building materials, such as tiles and bricks (Figure 1), had an important role in the construction of Roman cities, being used in multiple contexts, in roofs and thermal buildings. The smaller officinae did not need many marks, as each individual mark would be associated with a worker In this regard, a very interesting aspect could be found in the Edict of Diocletian, which mentions the payment according to a quantity of materials produced and to the task they did.
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