Archaeology of Buildings Research Papers (original) (raw)

Research on concealed deposits with ritual significance has been conducted by scholars in continental Europe, the British Isles, and Australia. Similar evidence of the material culture of magic and folk belief in the United States is presented, focusing on ritual deposits hidden within and around domestic structures associated with European American populations. Comparative analysis of three artifact types—witch bottles, concealed footwear, and cats—highlights discrepancies between ethnohistorical and archaeological evidence, and demonstrates temporal, geographical, and spatial patterns in ritual concealments. An overview of other important artifact types illustrates the wide variety of material culture employed in folk rituals in European America. The article concludes with a discussion of regional variation in ritual concealments and the importance of family and household structure, geographic and cultural origin, and cosmology and worldview in private domestic ritual.

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- Folklore, Historical Archaeology, Anglo-Saxon Studies, Salem Witchcraft Trials

Mudbrick technology and permanent architecture are Neolithic hallmarks but their origins are not well understood. By adopting a symmetrical approach to the examination of building materials,
and contextualizing these materials within a cultural knowledge of resources and other concurrent social practices, this paper challenges environmentally determined approaches to explain the adoption of mudbrick technology during the PPNA in Anatolia, Upper Euphrates and the Levant. This research illustrates the weak correlation between architectural form and building material, suggesting that although nature provides resources, it is culture that dictates architectural form and material use. It is
argued that the human-constructed environment became normalized throughout the PPNA and the social complexities of village life created a conceptual shift towards an artificial environment, supported by other changes in symbolic behavior. If building materials, such as mudbricks, were considered objects reflexive of human behavior, then we can access the complex and entangled relationship between people and things. Furthermore, the choice of building materials and their use in architecture can be considered codes of social practice and even ideology. As material culture, architecture becomes a metaphor for human engagement and symbolic communication.

- by Serena Love
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- Prehistoric Archaeology, Anthropology, Ethnoarchaeology, Anatolian Archaeology

I am fortunate enough to spend my working life exploring many different buildings, from medieval manor houses to 20th century football stadia, as part of a development-led brief to record them for posterity. This provides the opportunity to access places that few members of the public (other than squatters and urban explorers) ever see. It also involves many hours picking round derelict hulks with the rain coursing down the walls. This work feeds into the undeniable research value that arises from the study of individual buildings and how they inform our understanding of past societies and social practices. Conversely, there is also the less classifiable output of our attempting to capture the ‘spirit’ of a building prior to its demolition or conversion. Whilst the former is prioritised in guidance literature and methodologies, the latter
arguably comprises the majority of what we do. What follows is an attempt to reconcile these two mindsets, with what can be termed a ‘biographical’ approach to historic building recording.

- by Michael Shapland
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- Archaeology of Buildings, Biography of Objects, Workhouses

A growing recognition of the vital role that built space plays in social reproduction has created a need for analytical methods and interpretive frameworks with which to investigate this relationship in archaeological datasets. I address this by developing an integrative approach that emphasizes the role of the built environment as the context for interactions through which social structures are created, transformed and reproduced. This approach uses access analysis to examine how buildings structure patterns of movement and encounter that allow social actors to engage in or avoid particular forms of interaction. With its focus on the topological properties of built space, however, access analysis does not take adequate account of a building’s symbolic aspects, especially architectural characteristics and furnishings that social actors mobilize in the creation of meaningful contexts for interaction. I therefore integrate access analysis with an examination of how built environments encode meanings and nonverbally communicate them to inhabitants and visitors, potentially influencing their actions and interactions. The integrative approach allows determination of probable contexts for various types of social interactions during which social identities could be displayed, negotiated and reified. I conclude by demonstrating the potential of this approach with an analysis of the monumental Ashlar Building from the Late Bronze Age (c. 1650-1100 BC) site of Enkomi, Cyprus.

- by Kevin D Fisher
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- Near Eastern Archaeology, Space Syntax, Environmental Psychology, Space and Place

Please contact me if you would like a copy of this article. I am unable to upload it to access freely however.

- by William Wyeth
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- Medieval History, Medieval Archaeology, Archaeology of Buildings, Castle Studies

A significant problem in understanding the archaeology of standing buildings relates to the proscription to uncover features and structures within plastered and rendered walls due to the susceptibility and historic importance of such structures. Infrared thermography offers a method of visualization that is nondestructive and capable of revealing various types of archaeological anomaly that has been demonstrated on a small scale in the past. A passive infrared thermal camera is used to examine several historic buildings that are known or suspected to contain hidden archaeological information; the technique is also presented on complex, exposed historic building fabric. The results confirm that it is possible to detect various types of man-made anomaly and to differentiate building materials. In consequence, the use of passive thermal infrared imaging is shown to be a valuable tool in the examination and recording of historic buildings and structures.

Archaeological research on a prefabricated timber church on Tanna Island, Vanuatu (formerly the New Hebrides) has revealed details about site history, construction, use life, and current condition. This structure encapsulates two of the critical aspects of the New Hebrides missions, connecting these remote islands to wider global networks, while simultaneously being something that local communities made, and continue to make “their own.” In addition to being of interest to the indigenous community, buildings like the 1912 Tanna Church represent important examples of the tangible heritage created by the interplay of local and global forces in the modern world.

- by Martin J. Jones and +1
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- Historical Archaeology, Globalization, History of Missions, Oceania (Archaeology)

This article examines the material culture of migration, focusing on migrants’ house-making projects in their countries of birth. In particular, it examines the houses built or refurbished by Albanians in their home-country, which is no longer their place of permanent residence. This is a widespread phenomenon in Albania, but it is also a frequently appearing practice amongst other international migrants. Why do migrants living outside their home-countries build houses there even though they do not plan to return? I seek to answer this question in the case of Albania by focusing empirically on the process of constructing these houses, rather than merely on the material entity of the house
as such. I propose that such ‘house-making’ by Albanian migrants is not only a simple house-building process; it also ensures a constant dwelling and dynamic ‘proxy’ presence for
migrants in their community of origin. These ethnographic observations have further significance for the anthropological study of both houses and international migration.

- by Dimitris Dalakoglou
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- Cultural History, Bioinformatics, Sociology, Cultural Studies

This work presents the analytical results of the mortars and plasters characterization from Qasr Azraq, located in the city of Azraq (north-eastern Jordan). The castle has undergone several interventions and modifications during its service life; the archaeological surveys have shown that the actual building is a medieval reconstruction of a Roman fort, still reflecting the original structure. This research paper encompasses 64 samples from different historical periods and structures of the monument, aiming to reconstruct the timeline of different phases and to highlight technological choices. Conclusions are drawn on the basis of interpretation and integration of in situ observations, historical data and analytical data. The mortars were characterized following a multidisciplinary approach, combining macroscopic observation with petrographic examination, mineralogical analysis (XRD), microstructural and chemical analysis (SEM-EDS) and quasi-quantitative chemical analysis (pXRF) of mortar samples. Moreover, microstructural and mechanical properties of representative samples were studied. The results indicate the use of five different types of mortars, grouped based on composition and characteristics of binder and aggregates, ranging from pure lime mortars to hydraulic, gypsum-lime and earthen mortars. Overall, this paper contributes to the better understanding of building techniques and mortar production technology in the Near East during time.

- by Marta Tenconi and +1
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- Near Eastern Archaeology, Archaeology of Buildings, Roman Frontiers (Archaeology), Roman mortars

Summary. This paper discusses the interpretation of the objects deliberately hidden and sealed up in the structure of Minoan buildings. These building deposits are usually interpreted in terms of religion and ritual but this conventional view may actually be based on fallacious assumptions about the nature of human-environment relations in Bronze Age Crete. The present paper outlines an alternative ecological approach, which allows a degree of sociality between humans and non-human entities, and treats building deposits as an essentially practical means of manipulating the relations between humans and the (built) environment in situations of potential stress. It will be argued that buildings and other artefacts can, in some respects, be understood to live and grow similarly as organisms. Thus, in order to appreciate their significance, Minoan building deposits need to be related to the life-cycle of buildings.

This paper deals with the study of the domestic spaces from a linguistic perspective (a grammar of the house), distinguishing the elements into themselves and their combinations. Three different levels of analysis of the domestic fact are defined: the morphological, which tackles the form of the domestic units and the transformations they suffer; the syntactic, which emphasizes the relations between the elemental structures in the framework of an organized spatial structure; and the semiotic, which analyzes them as social expressions, materialization and instrument of cultural meanings.

The metric characterization of building materials, structures and buildings associated with various historical systems of measurement is a powerful tool for cultural and chronological affiliation, as shown by its practical application in the Royal Alcazar of Seville. The metrological analysis of various examples of Islamic architecture shows the universality of Islamic system of measurement in all the territories under its control.
La caracterización métrica de materiales de construcción, estructuras y edificios asociada a los distintos sistemas de pesas y medidas históricos es una potente herramienta para la adscripción cultural y cronológica, como muestra su aplicación práctica en el Real Alcázar de Sevilla. El análisis dimensional de diversos ejemplos de arquitectura islámica nos muestra la difusión del sistema de medidas islámico en todos los territorios bajo su dominio.

- by Vesa-Pekka Herva
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- Mythology And Folklore, Archaeology, Anthropology, Historical Archaeology

This paper will look at some of the excavated material for British urban workers’ housing, built and occupied during the period 1800 to 1950 in the Ancoats area of Manchester: Ancoats was notorious amongst contemporary writers and campaigners for its poor quality and over-crowded housing. This archaeological evidence has emerged as a result of developer-funded excavations and represents part of a growing body of data collected since 1990 from within many of the great industrial cities of Britain (Glasgow, London, and Manchester), as well as excavations in the numerous smaller industrial manufacturing towns of the UK. In this study particular attention is given to the impact of national legislation, private acts and local bye-laws aimed at improving industrialized living conditions and the build quality of 19th century workers’ housing occupied into the 20th century. Using excavated examples from more than 50 houses within Ancoats it will be argued that archaeology can provide a distinctive and unique view of urban domestic life in the 19th and first half of the 20th century, whilst demonstrating continuity in occupation patterns during this period. The evidence for urbanized, industrial, living also compliments the more extensive archaeological studies of manufacturing industry from the period.

We present a review of the Tomb of the Elephant at the Roman Necropolis of Carmona (Sevilla) made under the methodological principles of Building Archaeology and Archaeoastronomy. The results show that the building had several phases of use and was built to be a mithraeum as indicate its form and symbolism derived from the archaeoastronomical analysis of the window solar orientation.

A detailed dendrochronological survey was performed on the medieval roofs of the Church of Our Lady (CoOL) in Damme, Belgium. Seen its complex architectural history, special attention was paid to the identification of consecutive building phases, based on combined architectural historical research and tree-ring dating. In total 64 increment cores were taken throughout the roof structures of the CoOL. All roof timbers are made of European oak (Quercus robur/petraea), of which only few have surviving sapwood or bark. Tree-ring dating confirms the late 13th/early 14th century construction date of the roofs. For all chronologies that were composed, the highest correlation values are found with reference chronologies covering the catchment area of the river Meuse. From the dating results of the timbers of the CoOL it becomes clear that the same timber source was used for nearly a century. On several of the examined roof timbers, rafting joints were observed, demonstrating that the timbers were indeed tied together as a raft and floated down the river.By implementing sapwood estimates in a Bayesian chronological model (OxCal), tree-ring series with surviving sapwood from coeval roof structures were combined in order to narrow down the time range for the felling date. Based on the refined interpretation of the felling dates, several consecutive building phases can now be identified and dated, leading to a new interpretation of the architectural history of the CoOL. Intriguingly, a marked interruption in building activities is observed around 1300. Probably this is related to the instable political situation at that time, caused by the armed conflict that emerged between the Count of Flanders and the king of France. Since Damme served as the outport of the riotous city of Bruges, it was alternately seized by the French and Flemish, both consuming considerable amounts of timber and other building materials for military fortifications. Potentially this led to a shortage in building materials and provoked a stop in building activities.This paper demonstrates the power of Bayesian models to refine the interpretation of dendrochronological dates in architectural analyses of medieval historical buildings.

- by Kristof Haneca
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- Plant Biology, Architectural History, Dendrochronology, Archaeology of Buildings
- by Andrés Izeta and +2
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- Andean Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Archaeology of Buildings, Andean Culture

En este trabajo, se ofrece un estudio tipológico de las fábricas de tapial en la Provincia de Sevilla (España) desde época islámica. A pesar de que la clasificación propuesta se basa en la estructura de la fábrica como principal premisa del análisis, sin embargo, también se consideran cuestiones metrológicas y las relativas a la composición material de la fábrica, centradas estas últimas en estudios de caracterización de los materiales constituyentes (composición, porosidad, resistencia...).

- by Dan Hicks
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- Historical Anthropology, Historical Archaeology, Architecture, Cultural Heritage

Monumental buildings constructed with ashlar masonry have long been recognized as a hallmark of the Late Cypriot (LC) period (c. 1650-1100 BC). Yet, little attention has been paid to the vital role they played in the (trans)formation of social structures and maintenance of elite power. I examine how these buildings were designed to facilitate social interactions, including ritual activities centred on feasting, through which social statuses, roles and identities were negotiated and reproduced. This was achieved through the purposeful arrangement of rooms to control access and encourage or discourage particular types of interaction, as well as the strategic placement of symbolically-charged architectural elements such as ashlar masonry as a means of reifying social boundaries. As such, these monumental buildings were socially-constructed and meaningful places of action and interaction and therefore a central component of LC elite identities and the strategy of placemaking by which they derived and maintained their power.

- by Kevin D Fisher
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- Near Eastern Archaeology, Space Syntax, Place and Identity, Space and Place

This paper looks at the recent archaeological evidence for industrial housing in Manchester, United Kingdom. The paper argues that a fragmented land-holding pattern developed in a number of city-centre areas during the second half of the eighteenth century. That this land-holding pattern made these areas susceptible to overcrowding through the domestic redevelopment of back yard plots and the conversion of older housing to tenements. This redevelopment was at its most acute during the peak decades of population growth in the city, 1800-40, and this led to the slum conditions of poverty, disease and overcrowding recorded in contemporary accounts from the mid-nineteenth century.

In a densely packed, streetless village such as Neolithic Çatalhöyük in central Anatolia, it is argued in this article that variations in mudbrick recipes were used to mark social
identity and autonomy through the performance of building. Geoarchaeological analysis of mudbricks established that cultural modifications were used to create social differences
between neighbouring houses. Although mudbricks were ultimately invisible objects, hidden behind multiple layers of plaster, the processes of mudbrick manufacture and house construction were performed in the public domain allowing opportunities for individual expression. These results are situated within a larger practice of hiding and burying meaningful objects at Çatalhöyük, where unseen objects had as much power and affect as any object on display.

The UK has no comprehensive national, regional or local indexes (whether hard copy or database format) for unpublished building records. This paper introduces a building archaeology research database (BARD), designed as an archive for both published and unpublished building records. All data may be searched, entered and amended via the Internet although, for security and quality control, entry is via password and the amendment functionality assignable. The database has been developed to both encourage people’s involvement in building archaeology and as a research tool. BARD is available through a low subscription, with any accumulated surplus being used towards its ongoing development.

- by Richard Haddlesey and +2
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- Archaeology, Architecture, Vernacular Architecture, Archaeology of Buildings

""The building and resignification of space was a conquest
strategy of the Inca Empire deployed throughout its territory.
This paper aims to examine the problem by considering the
archaeological site of La Huerta (quebrada of Humahuaca,
Jujuy, Argentina) We seek to understand how imperial power
imposed its spatiality on conquered population, by re-building
and re-signifying the socially-built landscape, and how the
ideological representation of this spatiality, both produced and
reproduced the empire’s power relationships of domination.
For this purpose, we humanize the landscape by thinking
about it with people, analyzing how its inhabitants would
have behaved in that tridimensional space, experiencing
and perceiveing it.""

- by Iván Leibowicz
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- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Andean Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology

The main component of the Surrey Dendrochronology Project is the accurate dating of 177 ‘dwellings’, nearly all by tree-ring analysis. The dates are used to establish date ranges for 52 ‘key features’, which cover many aspects of timber-framing from building type to details of carpentry. It is shown that changes of method and fashion were in many cases surprisingly rapid, almost abrupt in historical terms. Previous dating criteria for timber-framed dwellings in the county have been refined and new criteria introduced. Clusters of change from the 1440s and the 1540s are shown and some possible historical links suggested.

- by Rod Wild and +1
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- Archaeology, Architecture, Vernacular Architecture, Medieval Archaeology

"Studies of industrial sites have tended to focus on purely functional understandings of their origins, layout, design and meaning. Industrial buildings have often been seen as an entity apart from other forms of post-medieval architectural expression. This is symptomatic of the isolation of industrial
archaeology, not only from the broader spectrum of archaeological thought but also from other disciplines which strive towards a deeper understanding of the development of consumer society. This paper explores the origin of the typical industrial complex, arguing that elements of medieval
cognition were retained into the 19th century."

One of the remarkable features of the St Kilda World Heritage Site is the ‘prodigious number of little cells’ spread throughout the crofts and across the rough grazing on the hills behind . These vernacular buildings, known as cleitean (singular cleit) number a staggering 1200 on the main island alone, nearly 150 per square kilometre. This paper suggests that, using careful field observation and a re-assessment of the historical evidence, it is possible to suggest that cleitean were far more than simply communal storehouses. With origins in the Norse period, they were certainly in use during the medieval Lordship of the Isles and were constructed to protect and improve export goods, initially fowl and eggs, and later the produce of agriculture. Their wide distribution not only spread risk but also symbolised the islanders’ control over the landscape. St Kilda was and is part of a rich and complex social and economic landscape, and the cleitean need to be understood through that lens, and not simply as a homogenous group of contemporary sheds.

We report on the destruction of the 1912 Tanna Church by tropical Cyclone Pam, which struck Vanuatu on the 13th March 2015. This building was a very significant prefabricated timber structure that had been archaeologically recorded in great detail. Detailed documentation mitigates to some extent the loss of the physical structure, especially when considered alongside the community's interests in the intangible values of the site. Returning to the site after the building's destruction allowed us to record some new details, and to discuss future heritage plans with representatives from local communities.

- by Olof Brandt
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- Archaeology of Buildings, Early Christian Architecture

The different construction technics, the different shapes of the buildings and
the wall stratigraphy of the emergent structures are materials of knwoledge.
This paper try to bring new data about the evolution of the Zenete’s fortifications (Granada), along the andalusian period, relating this with the
settlement and trying to show the changes suffered by the region.

Presentamos las investigaciones que nuestro grupo viene desarrollando sobre sociedades aldeanas en el sur de los valles Calchaquíes. Enfocamos una trayectoria de largo plazo con una orientación de arqueología regional que reúne varias líneas de evidencias: el hábitat, las maneras de hacer, los modos de circulación de bienes y las redes de interacción.
En esta ocasión tomamos por eje el área de La Quebrada para explorar cómo las localidades del primer milenio de la era se construían como ‘lugares desde donde se mira el mundo’, es decir, como configuraciones materiales fuertemente localizadas, pero a su vez abiertas y flexibles como parte de entramados materiales, sociales y simbólicos más amplios.
La Quebrada está situada en la vertiente occidental del valle del Cajón y abarca los sitios de Cardonal y Bordo Marcial. Unos kilómetros más al norte se encuentra Yutopián. Los tres sitios constituyen un conjunto muy informativo de las formas de vida durante el período Formativo, de sus prácticas cotidianas y de su perspectiva particular de habitar y percibir en el mundo andino. El trabajo discutirá las evidencias recabadas en estos lugares particulares en el marco de las ocupaciones arqueológicas contemporáneas en el área, tales como los asentamientos y otras formas de habitar el espacio registradas en la Falda occidental del Aconquija y el Valle de Santa María.
En esta investigación se aplicaron métodos provenientes de los estudios tecnológicos de artefactos, zooarqueología, arqueobotánica, arquitectura, paisaje, prácticas funerarias, análisis físicos y químicos (AANI, DRX, EDAX), cronométricos y espaciales. Se plantea comprender los mecanismos de interacción, producción, consumo y representación a través del tiempo, a fin de comprender la dinámica particular por medio de la cual las sociedades de este periodo construyeron sus mundos cotidianos locales de maneras entrelazadas.

- by Cristina Scattolin and +2
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- Andean Archaeology, Archaeological Graphics & Illustration, Landscape Archaeology, Archaeology of Buildings

Compared with its eastern Mediterranean neighbors, the island of Cyprus is remarkable for the rapid and rather late appearance of urban centers during the Late Bronze Age. Using an approach that focuses on the role of built environments as contexts for social interaction, I argue instead that the first cities were the result of place-making by the various groups and individuals that made up an increasingly complex Late Bronze Age society. This took place at multiple spatial scales from the top-down planning of ruling elites that gave shape to the urban landscape, through the formation of neighborhoods, to the bottom-up actions of individual households and their members. As such, the new urban centers were both product and producers of social life and catalysts for the far-reaching social transformations that characterized the Late Bronze Age on Cyprus.

- by Kevin D Fisher
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- Near Eastern Archaeology, Place and Identity, Space and Place, Cypriot Archaeology

The Late Bronze Age on Cyprus (c. 1650–1100 BCE) saw the appearance of monumental buildings that came to play an important role in changing patterns of social interaction and reproduction. Although these buildings often shared similarities in overall plan and the use of common design elements, I argue that the process of placemaking resulted in considerable variation in both their spatial configuration and the design of contexts for particular social interactions. Through its design and use in daily practice and social occasions, each monumental building developed its own biography and sense of place, ensuring that the experiences of its occupants and visitors were, in many ways, unique. I investigate this through a comparative study of two court-centred buildings, Building X from Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios and Building II from Alassa-Paliotaverna. I apply an integrative approach that acknowledges the agency of both builder and building, combining access analysis with an examination of how built environments encode and nonverbally communicate meanings to those who used them.

- by Kevin D Fisher
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- Near Eastern Archaeology, Space Syntax, Space and Place, Cypriot Archaeology

While English yew Taxus baccata L. has become extinct or rare in many parts of Europe, Britain contains a large population of very large and old yew. We analyse 2,760 records of live yew trees to document this unique population and categorise by girth: 717 Veteran (5–6.99 m), 204 Ancient (7–8.99 m) and 55 Exceptional (≥9 m) yew trees. Individual trees are mapped, and both areas and habitats of the highest proportions are detailed. The loss of 223 notable trees from churchyards highlights a need for better safeguarding a unique habitat of the world’s largest yew trees.

- by Andy Moir
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- Archaeology, Forestry, Architecture, Urban Forestry
- by Norma Franklin
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- Ancient History, Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Historical Archaeology

By Quentin Devers, Laurianne Bruneau and Martin Vernier

Since the founding excavation of the deserted village of Rougiers in Provence, medieval archaeological research concerning the transformation of both settlements as entities and settlement patterns has never ceased evolving and new territories have been explored. The aim of this paper is to lay out the newest research in this field for the South of France by looking at the problems raised by the occupation of roman villae after the 5th century, by exploring the progressive territorialization of rural settlements during the early Middle Ages and by studying the appearance in the years 450 to 550 of numerous perched and fortified sites, absent in the written sources. Instead of the typological forms adopted by rural settlements often studied in and of themselves, the advancement of medieval archaeology incites researchers to untangle the skein of medieval socio-spacial connections and question the relationship between the men and the spaces they lived in, from the sites to the region as a whole.
In this, the archaeology of local areas explores the legacies and the dynamics of the settlements which, in the long run, became the historical basis of the small territories created around a castle, a church, or a village, and which lead to the current network of 36 683 «communes», a French administrative specificity which never fails to surprise in the modern european landscape.

- by Laurent Schneider
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- Medieval History, Landscape Archaeology, Rural History, Settlement Patterns
- by Vesa-Pekka Herva
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- Cultural History, Archaeology, Anthropology, Historical Anthropology
- by Vesa-Pekka Herva
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- Archaeology, Anthropology, Historical Archaeology, Material Culture Studies

The tradition of placing objects and symbols within, under, on, and around buildings for supernatural protection and good luck, as an act of formal or informal consecration, or as an element of other magico-religious or mundane ritual, has been documented throughout the world. This thesis examines the material culture of magic and folk ritual in the eastern United States, focusing on objects deliberately concealed within and around standing structures. While a wide range of objects and symbols are considered, in-depth analysis focuses on three artifact types: witch bottles, concealed footwear, and concealed cats. This thesis examines the European origins of ritual concealments, their transmission to North America, and their continuation into the modern era. It also explores how culturally derived cognitive frameworks, including cosmology, religion, ideology, and worldview, as well as the concepts of family and household, may have influenced or encouraged the use of ritual concealments among certain groups.

- by M. Chris Manning
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- Folklore, Historical Archaeology, Medieval History, Early Modern History

Among the buildings discovered thanks to the archaeological project of the Tolmo de Minateda, we have to highlight a church of basilical plant with three naves and baptistry whose excavation is almost finished, and another building that will need some more time to be completely exposed. The set constitutes the main part of a monumental area in the city of Eio, most likely consisting of the basilica and a representative annexed building. It has been possible to document certain aspects related to the construction of the building, its architectural disposition, its decoration and the rites which took place there.