The Roman and late antique site of Montessoro (Isola del Cantone - Genova): a case study of the wattle and daub construction technique

Achaeological excavations at the site of Montessoro carried out between 2009 and 2013 by the Department of the Christian and Medieval Archaeology and currently under publication, have led to the alrge-scale exploration of a rural Apennine site which is the best inhabited between the first century BC and the fifth century AD. The late antique phase, the best preserved, is represented by 5 buildings of a farm made with a masonry plinth bound with clay, a raised panel made of reeds and a roof made of tiles and tiles.The systematic study of almost 600 fragments of clay, some of which were large in size and mostly coming from the levels of the granary's collapse due to fire, bearing negative traces of vegetal elements, has made it possible to collect numerous information on the interweaving technique used for the creation of the elevations: morphology and arrangement of the wooden parts (horizontal and vertical), relating to the texture of the cane and the load-bearing structure; mixing and spreading the clay and plaster.