I laterizi della Mauretania Tingitana: materiali per una tipologia

The bricks of Mauretania Tingitana. Materials for a typology. This paper presents a preliminary typology of the bricks used in Mauretania Tingitana and an examination of the known brick stamps. The bricks were introduced in this territory by the military after the creation of the province in 40 AD. In bath buildings, one finds the largest use of bricks, which also consist of a broad range of types. The methods of construction of the heated walls are particularly interesting, and they are of three main types: with nail-shaped spacers, with solid-brick spacers, and the “tongue and groove” system. The examination of brick stamps highlights how military productions were limited, and in fact we know only of one stamp of a cohors milliaria dated to the second half of the 1st c. and one stamp of an Ala Quinta in the 2nd c. AD. During the 2nd c. AD the products of the imperial figlinae, which were located mostly in the area around Tangiers, were diffused across the whole province. On the other hand, in the southern regions of Tingitana we find a concentration of bricks stamped by private officinatores. In conclusion, on the basis of the thermal systems, one sees how building technology changed through the 1st and 2nd centuries. On the other hand, during the 2nd and 3rd centuries the baths in Tingitana were built using a standardized wall heating system that probably originated in Baetica.