Shaping Mudbricks, Constructing Tradition: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Mudbrick Architecture in Late Bronze Age Thessaloniki Toumba

Earthen building materials have played a pivotal role in architectural traditions worldwide, with their use attested across millennia. In prehistoric Macedonia, mudbricks constituted the primary construction material for several centuries, establishing a long-lasting architectural tradition throughout the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. The continuous architectural use, accumulation, and degradation of mudbricks in successive occupational phases contributed to the formation of tells, which dominated the landscape of LBA Central Macedonia. Despite their ubiquity, mudbricks remain largely underexplored, creating a notable lacuna in the study of prehistoric building technologies in Greece. This research seeks to address this gap by reconstructing the chaîne opératoire of mudbrick production and use, using the prehistoric tell settlement of Toumba Thessaloniki as a case study. The project employs an interdisciplinary methodology that combines ethnoarchaeological and, in particular, experimental archaeology approaches to investigate the technological, social, and symbolic dimensions embedded within construction practices. Through this comprehensive examination, the study aims to elucidate the technological choices and social meanings underlying mudbrick architecture, thereby contributing to a broader understanding of how the mudbrick building tradition developed and ultimately shaped the built environment of prehistoric Macedonia.