Modern Age tar oven installations in the Canary Islands are made of basalt stone. They are built on steep slopes in the pine forests, at altitudes near 2000 m.a.s.l. They are composed of different structures having different functions. Upslope there was the main oven pit, a dug-out pit lined with basalt rocks in which resin-rich wood was deposited and heated (at unknown temperatures) for resin exudation. Downslope and connected to the main oven by a stone channel covered with a plaster of unknown composition was the cooking pit, also excavated and lined with basalt rocks, in which hot resin in liquid state would be heated (to unknown temperatures) until tar was produced. For our study, we sampled tar and sediment from different structures to obtain information about the technical process. So far, we have collected and analyzed samples from the main oven pit, the cooking pit, and the channel connecting both. We also collected fresh pine resin and wood samples to carry out burning experiments.
Our research on Canarian pine wood burning and tar production will provide experimental and archaeological reference data on the lipid molecular composition of pine resin, wood and tar. These data will be useful to interpret pine-fuelled archaeological hearths and archaeological tar-related features or residues. We will also contribute to the understanding of Modern Age tar production in Canary Island stone oven installations.