Revista de Ciências e Engenharia de Materiais

Indirect Dating of a Cistern Located in a Roman Archaeological Site (1st Century BC and 1st Century AD) from a Steel Nail

Abstract

Laura García Sanchez, Fernando Penco, Antonio Javier Criado, Growene W Queirós, José M Gómez de Salazar and Antonio J Criado

The discovery of a steel nail in the concrete wall of a cistern of possible high-imperial Roman origin (1st century BC and 1st century AD) has made it possible to date this construction chronologically. Until now, no method of dating concrete has been possible; however, the metallographic study of this nail gives clues for chronological dating. The existence on the nail of microstructures that reveal the existence of old perlite can be a clear fact in the chronology of the steel nail and the wall where it was found inside.