Early modern period adobe in Sicily: recent finds

Abstract

Earthen architecture in ancient Sicily can be linked to a technological continuity common to the whole Mediterranean basin. The island possesses numerous finds, dating back to periods from pre-history to the Hellenistic-Roman age, during which the adobe technique was common. Therefore the archaeological field had been the only one investigated, also due to the fact that more recent evidence of use of earth as a principal element in wall-building techniques was unknown in the Region. Recently traces of adobe were discovered in in the historical centre of Cefalù, on the northern coast of Sicily; these few portions are to be found in residential buildings made primarily of stone. Albeit modest in amount, these traces are important for historical knowledge and to reinforce the hypothesis of contemporary earthen architecture in Sicily.