ABSTRACT
Additives have been used in traditional construction throughout history. A significant body of literature endorses the potential and use of natural additives, establishing the suitability of these materials for construction purposes, contingent on the proper extraction, manufacture and application under certain conditions. In this paper we conclude that the Ceratonia silique or carob tree, common in Mediterranean area, contains the proper components to be used as consolidant for earthen surfaces. Biopolymers as tannins or polysaccharides contained in their pods are capable, in determinate medium conditions, of reacting in different ways with clay constituents improving mechanical properties of the colloid and endowing new possibilities to the earthen mortar.
