Construction Processes in Historical Western Societies (5th c. BC - 10th c. AD): Case Studies on Techniques, Models, and Costs

Construction Process in Historical Western Societies (6th C. BC – 10th C. AD) brings together studies devoted to the management of material resources in the architecture of Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, exploring how past societies obtained, transformed, and reused materials intended for construction. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the book connects archaeology, geology, economic history, and architectural analysis in order to understand the processes that made possible the building of cities and monuments.

The contributions examine the supply chains of stone, marble, and other resources; the techniques of extraction and carving; the organization of construction workshops; and the long-distance circulation of materials. A cross-cutting theme is the reuse of ancient architectural elements, a phenomenon that reveals both economic strategies and cultural and symbolic changes in the use of urban space.

The volume is characterized by the application of innovative methodologies that combine archaeometric analyses, quarry surveys, the study of tool marks, and digital documentation tools. This diversity of approaches makes it possible to reconstruct more precisely the construction processes and production systems associated with historical architecture.

Beyond providing new data, the book proposes future lines of research focused on the comparative study of supply networks, the experimental reconstruction of ancient techniques, and the use of digital technologies to model construction processes. Taken together, it offers a broad and up-to-date view of past architecture as the result of interrelated technical, economic, and social decisions.

Christopher Courault holds a PhD from the University of Cordoba (Spain) with international mention (University of Edinburgh). He is a member of the research group Ciudades de Andalucía, and from 2017 he has been an associate researcher at the University of Geneva. His primary interest lies in the construction of city walls from the Republican to Islamic period.

Pedro Albuquerque is currently a distinguished researcher (Emergia) and lecturer in the department of Prehistory and Archaeology (University of Seville). He is a member of several research groups (HUM-152, De la Turdetania a la Bética) and institutions, such as the Centre for Global Studies (Aberta University, Portugal), CIAC (University of the Algarve, Portugal) and Uniarq (University of Lisbon, Portugal).

Javier Á. Domingo holds a PhD in Archaeology from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili of Tarragona and has taught Christian Archaeology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome since 2014. His research and publications have focused on Roman and late Roman architectural decoration.

Maria Serena Vinci is an Assistant Professor of Classical Archaeology in the Department of Prehistory and Archaeology at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid. Her research focuses primarily on Roman architecture and construction, with particular emphasis on the relationship between quarries and monuments. One line of investigation is on the use of epigraphic marks and carving guide-lines, understood as material evidence of planning, design, and construction processes.

Sebastián Vargas-Vázquez is a Professor in the Department of Prehistory and Archaeology at the University of Seville. His research focuses on the study of Roman mosaics, with a particular emphasis on the analysis of geometric designs and the socio-professional organization of musivarii (mosaic) workshops. Currently, his archaeological work is centered on the Roman city of Italica (Santiponce, Seville), where he analyses its architecture - primarily public buildings - and its integration within the city's urban fabric.