Historic Mortars: Characterization and Durability. New Tendencies for Research

A mortar is a material resulting of the intimate mixture of sand grains, a binder (lime, cement, etc.) and water. The properties and characteristic of the mortars mainly depend on the nature of the binder component. That is the reason for which, its evolution with time has been very related to the development of artificial cementitious materials. So, with the consolidation of the Roman civilization the use of lime mortars was generalized and extended. Since the XVIIIth century, hydraulic binders begun to partially replace the lime. These new materials hardened more quickly and developed higher mechanical strengths. In the XIXth century, the invention of portland cement revolutionized the world of building materials, completely displacing the use of lime in all type of civil and military constructions.