Unlocking the water retention behaviour of turf construction materials

Turf is not a material frequently associated with construction. However, as cheap, easily available, and versatile it was used in antiquity (and has been various contexts since) to form unit-based mass walls, embankments, ramparts. Some of the best-preserved evidence for historical turf use comes from Roman period, when mainstay military construction, being widely forts (e.g. along Rhine Britain) large-scale linear earthworks, most notably thewalls Hadrian (northern England) Antoninus Pius (central Scotland). To our knowledge, never examined construction material; its interest has, until now, restricted soil agricultural sciences sports engineering. This paper presents first exploration water retention properties, assessed understand whether behaviour can be collated that more traditionalearthen materials, example cob or rammed earth. Tensiometer psychrometer methods were estimate curves turf, representative harvested two sites near Crieff, Scotland. The obtained data analysed terms unimodal type functions qualities full range curve Scottish turf. work supports larger project examining how engineering materials principles explain ancient practices. In so doing, we will well positioned reintroduce this low-carbon modern market.