INVESTIGATING
THE MATERIALS USED IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION
|
In the BACH
project at Çatalhöyük the architecture
is the focus of our research, in addition to providing the
context of the associated finds (bones, stone tools, burials).
The architecture of Neolithic Central Anatolia is dominated
by the use of mud-bricks. The bricks and mortar as well as
the hard earth floors were covered with a white plaster, that
was renewed many times during the history of the building.
All of these building materials were brought to the mound
and added to the matrix that was deposited and formed the
tell. |
Dr. Mirjana Stevanovic
is employing replicative experiments and clay
chemical compositional analysis to investigate:
o a comparison between the composition of clays used in brick-making
at Çatalhöyük with those from other Neolithic
Central Anatolian sites
o the significance in the choice of materials for construction
in the Neolithic in different regions, mud-brick in Central
Anatolia, stone in Eastern Anatolia, and wattle-and-daub of
Southeast Europe.
o Variability in the composition of the different clays and
their “recipes” of admixtures with other materials
used in the buildings; do they vary within buildings, for
example in constructing walls and fixtures? Do they vary within
buildings during the building’s long history? Do they
vary between buildings that are contiguous? Do they vary between
buildings whose histories do not overlap? |
