The amazing architecture of the Dacians. Few thoughts concerning the use of mortars based on new analyses

In 2016, while carrying out a campaign on a Dacian “tower-house” type structure identified in earlier years on the Cetățuie Hill in Ardeu, an atypical material was noticed on the inferior surface of a stone block sitting perpendic¬ular on the revetment. Its appearance, of different colour and texture compared to the stone block it was attached to, led us to immediately assume it could be mortar. Based on this working hypothesis a series of questions were formulat¬ed, with the purpose of extracting as much valuable information as possible from the sample. Powder X-ray diffraction and petrographic investigations were carried out in order to answer these questions.