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They were constructed of burnt lime and clay, colored red with ochre and polished
The early Neolithic settlement of Çayönü, in eastern Turkey had about 90 m 2 (970 sq ft) of terrazzo floors. Its believed they used almost 4.5 tons of wood to complete. (1)
Nevalı Çori did too. About 80 m 2 (860 sq ft). They are almost 6″ thick.
Göbekli Tepe, Jericho, and Kastros (Cyprus) also had ‘terrazzo’ floors
More modernly chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable materials, are poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical binding), something polymeric (for physical binding), a combination of both.
Either prehistoric and neolithic burnt lime and clay, colored red with ochre and polished. Or, stone pieces, like marble or granite, pressed into a cement base. Terrazzo floors would have provided a unique, good looking and smooth surface to walk and entertain on.
Citation: 1) Gourdin, W. H.; Kingery, W. D. (1975). “The Beginnings of Pyrotechnology: Neolithic and Egyptian Lime Plaster”. Journal of Field Archaeology. 2 (1–2): 133–150. doi:10.1179/009346975791491277 (https://doi.org/10.1179%2F009346975791491277).
Bibliography: Jester, Thomas (1995). Twentieth Century Materials: History and Conservation. New York: McGraw Hill.
History of Terrazzo National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association. (n.d.). https://ntma.com/history-of-terrazzo/
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