Bricks and mortars from the “Patio de Santo Tomás”, Alcalá University (Madrid, Spain): a combined study of fabric characterization and building morphology

Abstract

A combined study of fabric characterization and building geometry and morphology has been undertaken at the “Patio de Santo Tomás, Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso” from the Alcalá University (Madrid, Spain). A set of bricks and their associated mortars from differ-ent chronology and locations has been selected to carry out fabric characterization, which were accomplished by using observation and analytical conventional techniques, such as thin section polarized light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), en-ergy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), and thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). Resulting data have enabled the recognition of three groups of bricks with their as-sociated mortars in the five constructive phases of the building. Each group showed composi-tional and technological differences which can be correlated with their chronology and location in the building. This combined study has provided outstanding data which can be useful for fu-ture conservation and restoration strategies