Suchergebnisse

Glass mosaic decorations were used throughout the medieval Mediterranean as a powerful medium to convey religious and political agendas, yet we know next to nothing about the source of the materials and the transmission of the necessary technical know-how. Mosaics are generally considered a Byzantine art form, not least due to their prominence in Byzantine church architecture and because medieval Islamic textual sources assert that the glass tesserae of some of the most important early mosques were of Byzantine origin. This article provides solid analytical evidence that glass used in the tenth-century mosaics of the Great Umayyad Mosque of C´ordoba (Spain) came from Byzantium. Most of the tesserae have high boron contents, for which the only compositional match are Byzantine glasses made with raw materials from Asia Minor. In addition, some of the glass has a chemical fingerprint that suggests that it was prepared by mixing local raw materials with imported high boron glass, indicative of local mosaic glassmaking. Our study thus illustrates the value of analytical studies in re-assessing long-held assumptions about the making of mosaics as well as the movement of materials and people across cultural barriers. The presence of Byzantine materials and craftsmen in C´ordoba demonstrates that Muslims and Christians were interacting the length of the Mediterranean, corroborating the close diplomatic ties between the Caliphate of C´ordoba and the Byzantine Empire during the tenth century. Our findings further underscore the importance of glass in trade and diplomatic exchange, reflecting its cultural and economic value in the medieval world.

The high density of historic rammed earth military samples in the Iberian Peninsula is mainly due to Almoravid and Almohad presence during the 11th and 13th centuries. The aim of this paper is to provide a methodological framework that enables the assessment of these sites, using the city walls of Seville as a case study. Hence, multi-scale and multidisciplinary approaches have been developed employing methodologies based on the use of CAD GIS-BIM digital models, conceived as a Digital Cartographic Management (DCM) protocol. This research will contribute to a better knowledge of this medieval heritage that will enable the development of future intervention criteria and the creation of preventive conservation strategies. The scientific knowledge achieved will also contribute to the regulation and standardization of the restoration of monuments built with rammed earth. Conservation and repair of historic rammed earth sites should only be undertaken if there is a good understanding of the consequences of any intervention technique.