Oven of Brea

During the 2009-2010 campaign at the Illeta dels Banyets archaeological site, productive structures were located that were identified as a pitch or fish oven thanks to archaeological and ethnographic parallels and anthracological and chemical analyses. Dated between the end of the 4th century and the first half of the 3rd century BC, it is the first complete installation of this type known for the protohistoric period on the Iberian Peninsula.

Pitch or pitch is a vegetable substance extracted from the resin of coniferous trees. There were two methods of obtaining the resin; either from living trees or from the stumps of felled trees, as was done in the Illeta. For this it was essential to have an oven connected to a tank or "olla" and a tank dug into the subsoil or "Pastera". In the kiln, thinly cut pieces of wood were placed vertically and subjected to a long reductive firing. The resin was collected in the pot where volatile substances such as rosin, acetone or turpentine were partially burnt and finally the product was collected in the pasteuriser and allowed to cool to solidify.

In ancient times, and practically until the 1960s, pitch or pitch was an element of enormous importance as it was essential in a multitude of craft and industrial processes, as it was used as a glue and as a waterproofing agent. The historiographic sources describe the production processes, the different varieties and their most common uses, among which we can highlight the uses in agriculture, livestock farming, oenology, medicine, veterinary medicine, architecture, navigation and in the arts of war.

Illustrations by JR. Casals

https://revistascientificas.us.es/index.php/spal/article/view/12802