Abstract:

Despite the omnipresence of earth as construction material, since the beginning of domestic self-construction, in Neolithic times or maybe earlier, until nowadays, earth constructions have been barely studied by Archaeology. Earth constructions remain difficult to identify in archaeological context, and they normally lack of monumental or aesthetic value. This has disfavored them not to be a subject of study in most cases, causing an irreversible loss of archaeological information. Their characterization, contextualization and interpretation provide data not only about the construction forms of a settlement, but also about the ways of life of those human groups who built them. Such study has been developed at the argaric settlement of Cabezo Pardo (San Isidro/Granja de Rocamora, Alicante), showing the use of specific construction materials and techniques, in which earth played a fundamental role.