Morphometric analysis of bricks from the Alcazaba of Málaga by digital screening of thin sections and application to the determination of buildings phases

Abstract

Bricks are the manufactured product more important as construction material of the Alcazaba (Málaga); this is one of the most symbolic military fortifications from the Islamic period in Spain, and was build and rebuilt continuously from the VIII to the XIV centuries. Chronology of the building of different areas in the Alcazaba is uncertain from the archaeological point of view and a datation study is being carried out with base on the mineralogical end petrological analysis of bricks of known chronology. The aim of this work is to evaluate the contribution of morphometry analysis of brick thin slides and their mineralogical and chemical composition to discriminate the main brick typologies.