Nives DoneusA joint project with Andreja Sironić, Ruder Bošković Institut, Croatia is dedicated to the question of mortar analyses of archaeological monuments in the Mediterranean climate regions. The project (2024-2025) is funded by Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation (OeAD) and Croatian Ministry for Science and Education.
Archaeological monuments and sites along the Croatian coast hold valuable historical information, but also challenges in terms of accurate dating, especially those with a simple ground plan and without any (preserved) decoration. To address this challenge, our project proposes a comprehensive approach that combines archaeological and mortar radiocarbon analysis. While mortar analysis have been used to date individual monuments in Croatia, they had not been utilized in a larger study considering both archaeological and methodological aspects of radiocarbon dating. The area of the ancient city of Osor will serve as a prime example for the research. The project will focus on two main areas: Firstly, to characterize the mortar composition and identify any regional variations and secondly, to assess the state of mortar deterioration in relation to sea salt content and carbonate recrystallization. The project’s outcomes seek to establish a standardized methodology that can be applied to other similar monuments. By doing so, we hope to benefit also archaeological research and facilitate a broader discussion on archaeological monuments along the Mediterranean coasts.
