Ancient Culture Mastered Flooring Technique Millennia Before the Romans

MOTZA, ISRAEL—According to the Greek Reporter, new research indicates that the ancient inhabitants of the site of Motza, Israel, had surprising mastery of a complicated flooring technique thousands of years earlier than previously expected. During highway construction west of Jerusalem, archaeologists uncovered a late Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement consisting of more than 20 building complexes dating to between 7100 and 6700 b.c. These structures contained around 100 plaster floors. Closer analysis of these surfaces revealed that some of them were actually made from dolomite lime plaster as opposed to the more common limestone plaster. Dolomite has advantages over limestone, which is a similar type of rock. It burns at a lower temperature, which reduces fuel costs, and it also tends to be harder and more water-resistant. However, burning dolomite to break it down and create the necessary ingredients for plaster is also trickier and requires highly advanced technical knowledge. In fact, until the recent discovery, researchers believed that no ancient culture was capable of creating dolomitic plaster until the Romans, almost 8,000 years later. To read about Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlements in southeastern Turkey, go to "Discovering a New Neolithic World."