1 Introduction
The use of ceramic sugar jars pieces in ancient masonry walls in the Aveiro district reflects the use of these materials in construction beyond the production and transportation of sugar (Nobre 2017). Ceramic sugar jars materials were produced in Aveiro given the existence of raw material in abundance and of very good quality. In the fiftieth century the production center of Barreiro (close to Lisbon) would have ceased production and until the independence of Brazil, in the early nineteenth century, Aveiro would have been the only producer of these ceramic materials in Portugal (Morgado 2014). This production will have provided intense trade with the major sugar producing centers. Due to the local absence of natural stone for construction, the rejected/surplus ceramics were used as building material on the walls. Recently, following old house demolitions in the city of Aveiro, whole walls have been discovered with these ceramic materials, many of which were practically intact, which allowed the development of this comparative study.
2 Methods and Approaches
Mineralogical analysis was carried out by X-Ray diffraction, using a Panalytical X’Pert-Pro MPD, Kα Cu (λ = 1,5405 Å) radiation on random-oriented powders; chemical composition was assessed by X-Ray Fluorescence using a Panalytical Axios PW4400/40 X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometer for major and trace elements and Lost on Ignition (LOI) was also determined. Compressive strength was assessed by a Shimadzu: AG-IC equipment. TGA analysis was also performed.
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3 Results and Conclusions
The chemical and mineralogical properties of ceramics were similar, pointing to local production using only local raw materials. Quartz is present in all samples. The phyllosilicates are not present in any sample of the sugar ceramics but are present in all the remaining ceramic samples. The presence/absence of phyllosilicates is an indicator of the heating process temperature, higher on the case of the sugar ceramic jars. The compressive strength analysis of the ceramics sugar jars pieces shows higher values (mean 9.5 MPa) than other ceramics (mean 8.0 MPa).
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