Mosaic pavement mortar production in Gerasa in the Byzantine period

The mortars used were lime mortars. These were produced through the calcination of local limestone and the prolonged slacking of the resulting lime. Laboratory analyses of the mortars have allowed the tracing of changes in relationship between the quality of the mortar and its microscopic and compositional characteristics through the time period studied. This helped to understand variations in mortar preparation techniques and raw materials used. The analyses have shown a great variation in composition and texture within a relatively short period of time, which may be attributed to socioeconomic and political factors, as no depletion of raw material is plausible (except, perhaps fuel).