ABSTRACT
The aim of this work is to describe the state of conservation of the tower of the church Sta. Mª de la Encarnación, Constantina (Seville), the characterization of its bricks, masonry and rendering mortars and establish the origin of their decay. The methodology consisted in determining the chemical composition by XRF, the contents of soluble salts and chlorides by ICP and ionic chromatography, the mineralogical composition by XRD, the study of physic-mechanical properties and finally the dating by 14C of the rendering mortar. As a result of all the analyses developed it was determined that the main causes of decay were the heterogeneity of the quality of artisanal bricks and the presence of expansive efflorescence that damaged the structure through crystallization/dissolution cycles.
