Current mortars in conservation: an overview

Renders are an important item in historical buildings and the need for their periodical re-application is a basic conservation procedure. In modern times there has been a trend towards the replacement of traditional pure lime mortars by new formulations including Portland cement or hydraulic lime. Apart from those interventions on specific and very important monuments, in which the use oftraditional non-hydraulic mortars can be enforced, in most of the projects involving less than first order magnitude heritage the use of some sort of hydraulic components is becoming the rule rather than the exception. The present paper describes and analyses the results of an experimental study with ten formulations of current mortars - including some that can hardly be considered as adequate conservation procedures - allowing a direct comparison in terms of some of the most relevant characteristics.

Pozzolanic components in lime mortars: correlating behaviour, composition and microstructure.

Int. J. for Restoration of Buildings and Monuments, vol.11, nº 2 (2005), p.111-118

Development of biocolonization resistant mortars: preliminary results

Restoration of Buildings and Monuments, vol. 13, nº 6 (2007), p.389-400

Evaluation of salt resistant mortars

Restoration of Buildings and Monuments, vol.11, nº 2 (2005), p.105-110

Built heritage-making and socioeconomic renewal in declining rural areas : evidence from Portugal

This article focuses on the connections between built heritage-making and socioeconomic renewal in declining rural areas. Drawing on fieldwork in twelve rural villages in eastern Portugal, it sheds light on the outcomes of a State-led programme, the objectives of which were to renovate the historic built fabric and generate tourism revenue for a region with declining population levels. Overall, the programme was successful in terms of preservation / conservation of monuments and the built fabric, but failed to stimulate the anticipated social and economic development. The conclusion is that the making of heritage spaces is not the remedy for the economic and demographic ills of rural areas, notwithstanding the positive effect that such measures may have in certain cases.

As estelas decoradas da Idade do Bronze Final do território português : sistematização e problemáticas sócio-culturais

O objectivo deste trabalho é criar acervo documental correspondente às catorze estelas funerárias da Idade do Bronze Final encontradas em território português, e, contribuir para o estudo das comunidades humanas que as criaram, tendo em conta que estas manifestações devem reflectir questões de índole social, económica e ideológica. A iconografia presente nestes monumentos e a sua distribuição, revelaram um núcleo de características predominantemente atlânticas, em estelas de sub-tipos mais recuados, localizadas nas regiões de Vila Real em Trás-os-Montes e Beira Interior que, por sua vez, se prolonga na Extremadura Espanhola. A concentração de monumentos de tipologia mais tardia e com influências do Mediterrâneo Oriental, verifica-se em zonas a sul, no Alentejo e Algarve e ao longo da bacia fluvial do rio Guadalquivir, em território espanhol. Estes factos corroboram assim, aspectos propostos nos anos setenta do século XX, por M. V. Gomes e J. P. Monteiro, que valorizaram as origens diferenciadas para os elementos iconográficos das estelas decoradas da Idade do Bronze Final, da Península Ibérica e ofereceram evolução cronológica de tais monumentos.