A new formulation of the Hamiltonian dynamics of the gravitational field
interacting with(non-dissipative) thermo-elastic matter is discussed. It is
based on a gauge condition which allows us to encode the six degrees of freedom
of the ``gravity + matter''-system (two gravitational and four
thermo-mechanical ones), together with their conjugate momenta, in the
Riemannian metric q_{ij} and its conjugate ADM momentum P^{ij}. These variables
are not subject to constraints. We prove that the Hamiltonian of this system is
equal to the total matter entropy. It generates uniquely the dynamics once
expressed as a function of the canonical variables. Any function U obtained in
this way must fulfil a system of three, first order, partial differential
equations of the Hamilton-Jacobi type in the variables (q_{ij},P^{ij}). These
equations are universal and do not depend upon the properties of the material:
its equation of state enters only as a boundary condition. The well posedness
of this problem is proved. Finally, we prove that for vanishing matter density,
the value of U goes to infinity almost everywhere and remains bounded only on
the vacuum constraints. Therefore the constrained, vacuum Hamiltonian (zero on
constraints and infinity elsewhere) can be obtained as the limit of a ``deep
potential well'' corresponding to non-vanishing matter. This unconstrained
description of Hamiltonian General Relativity can be useful in numerical
calculations as well as in the canonical approach to Quantum Gravity.Comment: 29 pages, TeX forma