Wattle & Daub: Craft, Conservation & Wiltshire Case Study
Contents 2 History
3 Craft
3.3 Panel Types
3.4 Staves
3.6 Daub
3.7 Decoration
4.1 Soils
4.1.1 Constituents
4.1.2 Plasticity
4.1.3 Strength
4.1.4 Field Testing
4.1.5 Selection
4.2 Dung
4.2.2 Lignin
4.2.3 Urine
4.2.4 Microbial Debris
4.2.5 The Role of Dung
4.3 Fibre
5.2.3 Maintenance
5.3 Repair
5.3.1 Partial Renewal
5.4 Replacement
5.4.1 Brick Infill
5.4.2 Renewal
6.3 Fieldwork
6.5 Evaluation
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4.2.1 Evaluation of Dung IngredientsThe digestion of ruminants and the composition of cow faeces
are explained in Appendix 1. Most ruminants
have similar digestive function and therefore it is likely that horse and cow
dung have many comparable properties. The main constituent of cow dung is debris
from cells within the digestive tract and secretions from the body such as
salts, sloughing of animal cells and mucus. Faeces also include undigested diet
comprising cellulose and lignin, originating from the cell walls of the plants.
In the analysis of dung, it should also be considered that cowpats and slurry
often contain urine as well as faeces. In an attempt to identify the components
of dung that may be beneficial to daub, possible candidates were selected for
review, namely lignin, urine and microbial debris.
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