Expansión histórica del Granito de Cardeñosa (Ávila) y tipos de paramento en el Centro-Sur de Castilla y Leónrelación con las formaciones geológicas

Abstract

From the end of the 15th century onwards in the South-Central region of Castilla y León, an area devoid of rocky outcrops, there has been a significant northwards flow of granite building material from the Cardeñosa quarries at the edge of the Spanish Central System. The same granite types of quarries have been selectively used in monuments. A zoning model of a decreasing granite expansion has been determined from Ávila to Valladolid. This is explained by: a) a smooth descending slope, b) the presence of an old road network in the N-S inter-river areas, and c) the demand for resistant material from great centers of power. In parallel, from the basic material of monuments the following types of composite masonry in combination with brick has been established from S to N: a) random quartzite (and schist)-stone rubble masonry, whose blocks come from the Ordovician and Neoproterozoic formations of the Variscan basement, b) rubble masonry made of the Páramo limestone, and c) rubble construction made of quartzite pebbles from fluvial terraces and Miocene conglomerates of the Duero Basin.