Abstract
A global heritage stone designated by International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) is a natural stone that has been widely used in significant architecture and monuments, recognized as integral aspects of human culture.The aim of this study is to evaluate the characteristics of the Quaternary travertine formations located in Western Türkiye called ‘Denizli Travertine’ as a global heritage stone candidate. The Denizli Travertine have been commonly used as building stones in the ancient cities of the Lycus Valley since the second century BC. The cotton-white Pamukkale Travertine, which was designated as one of The First 100 Geological Heritage by IUGS in 2022, is the recent part of the Denizli Travertine. The travertine-dominated structures have given a privileged feature to the aforementioned ancient cities. In these cities, public buildings such as theatre, agora, bath basilica, monumental fountain, bridges and fortification wall were predominantly built in travertine. Since the thirteenth century, the use of the travertine also continued in the buildings of Seljuk Period, like caravanserais, monumental tombs and castle walls. The travertine consists of carbonate minerals (i.e. mostly calcite, with less amount of aragonite) and is porous. The main texture is significantly wackestone to packstone including peloid, bacterial/crystalline dendrite, and coated grain. Another type is banded travertines, which occurs as a fissure fill or vein, have a completely crystalline texture and has been mostly used for decorative purpose. Contemporarily, the stone is widely used in many areas such as flooring, cladding, stair steps, countertops, table, coffee tables and sculptures and is traded worldwide, and therefore considered to deserve to be designated as a global heritage stone resource.
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Introduction
Türkiye, a bridge between Europe and Asia, is very rich in terms of natural stone diversity, some of which have been widely used for several thousands of years (Kazancı and Gürbüz 2014). Among these, the Denizli Travertine (Özkul 2019; Özkul et al. 2013), Diyarbakır Basalts (Dursun 2019), Afyon Marble (Çelik and Sert 2020), Marmara Marble (Attanasio et al. 2008), limestones of the Midyat Group known as local names such as Şanlıurfa Stone, Mardin Stone, Midyat Stone and Nizip Stone (Öztürk-Tel and Sarıışık 2020, Kazancı and Adıyaman Lopes 2022) could be mentioned primarily. The Denizli Basin in Western Turkey, also called as ‘Çürüksu Graben’ or ‘Lycus Valley’ in antiquity is well known for its widespread travertine occurrences, precipitated from thermal springs during the Quaternary period. (Altunel and Hancock 1993; Kele et al. 2011; De Filippis et al. 2012; Özkul et al. 2002, 2013; Claes et al. 2015; Van Noten et al. 2019 and references cited therein). The world famous Pamukkale, which has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a natural and cultural heritage since 1988, is one of the amazing travertine locality in the basin. Currently, Pamukkale Travertines, have been designated as one of the The First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites in 28th October 2022 (IUGS 2022).
In the Denizli Basin, four ancient cities (e.g. Hierapolis/Pamukkale), Laodikeia, Tripolis and Colossae) were established in the past, dating back to at least to the 2nd to third centuries BC. The cities mentioned above are mostly located on or near the travertine occurrences and their associated hot springs. Therefore, the travertine has been the most leading building stone in these ancient cities for thousands of years. Also today, the Denizli Travertines are still quarried, processed, and traded in domestic and foreign markets.
Similarly, a large amount of travertines in Rome, Central Italy called as ‘Lapis Tiburtinus’ has been used in the construction of both ancient and modern architectural structures (Grawehr 2022). Because the Lapis Tiburtinus travertine formed during late Pleistocene, which exposed near Tivoli, approximately 25 km east of Rome, have been quarried for more than two thousand years (Faccenna et al. 2008).
Global Heritage Stone Resource (GHSR) is a scientific designation created and managed by the Heritage Stone Subcommission–HSS (IUGS/IAEG) to enhance the geological knowledge, use and conservation of natural stones of historical importance worldwide (Marker 2015; Pereira et al. 2015; Primavori 2015; Kaur et al. 2020a, b; Lahaye et al. 2022). Until today, 32 natural stones from 17 countries have been registered by the subcommission (https://iugs-geoheritage.org/designations-stones/).
The aim of this contribution is to nominate the Denizli Travertine as a Global Heritage Stone Resource (GHSR).
Geological Setting
The Denizli basin, one of the grabens in the extensional province of western Türkiye, is famous for its Quaternary travertine formations (Altunel and Hancock 1993; Koçyiğit 2005; Alçiçek et al. 2007; Özkul et al. 2013; Van Noten et al. 2013, 2019). The basin was bounded by normal faults along its northern and southern margins (Fig. 1). The faults and their accompanying fissures are natural pathways for the meteoric waters to percolate into the subsurface and hydrothermal fluids to come upwards the surface. There are many travertine masses, including world famous Pamukkale Travertine, in different parts of the basin (Altunel and Hancock 1993; Kele et al. 2011; Özkul et al. 2002, 2013; Claes et al. 2015).
The travertine deposits of Quaternary age are unconformably underlain by the Neogene sequence called as ‘Denizli Group’ that is early Miocene to Pliocene in age (Alçiçek et al. 2007). The Denizli Group was divided into three formations i.e. Kızılburun, Sazak and Kolankaya that composed of alluvial, lacustrine and fluvio-lacustrine deposits, respectively (Fig. 2).
On the other hand, older basement rocks of Paleozoic to Mesozoic age are composed mostly of schist and marble that are attributed to the cover units of the Menderes Massive (Bozkurt and Oberhänsli 2001; Erdoğan and Güngör 2004; Candan et al. 2011). The marbles exposed around the Denizli Basin were grouped into three types such as white, gray veined and gray marbles depending on color, crystal size, crystal boundaries and foliation. Under the microscope, heteroblastic polygonal and homeoblastic polygonal textures have been observed. In the marbles main minerals are calcite and dolomite, however, quartz, muscovite, pyroxene and ferric iron oxides are also evident as accessory minerals (Koralay and Kılınçarslan 2015). The second group of the basement rocks is the allochthonous Mesozoic limestone, dolomite and gypsum of the Lycian Nappes (Fig. 2), which tectonically overlies the Menderes Massive (Okay 1989). The dolomite and gypsum in the nappes are Triassic in age (Gündoğan et al. 2008). The basement rocks cropped out on the graben shoulders and in the mountainous areas up to 2570 m asl in height (Fig. 1).
The Denizli Basin is also important in terms of its seismic activity as well as geothermal potential (Utku 2009; Kumsar et al. 2015; Bozkaya et al. 2024). The ancient city of Hierapolis at Pamukkale, for example, was damaged several times by the paleoearthquakes (Altunel and Barka 1996; Piccardi 2007) with magnitudes up to 6.0 (Hancock et al. 2000) that were triggered by normal faulting and extension of the basin (Kaypak and Gökkaya 2012).
Travertine
Travertine is one of the continental carbonates precipitated from hydrothermal springs that is relatively hard, crystalline, and less porous compared to tufa (Pedley 2009; Jones and Renaut 2010; Özkul et al. 2013).
Travertine, composed of various lithotypes that are observed easily on the hand speciment, block surface, tile, slubs, quarry walls and under the microscope, have been described as banded, crystalline crust, shrub, pisoid, paper-thin raft, coated bubble, reed, and lithoclast-breccia travertine (Guo and Riding 1998; Özkul et al. 2002, 2013; Claes et al. 2015). Field properties, textural, mineralogical and environmental characteristics of the leading lithotypes have been summarized in Table 1.
Mineralogy and Petrography of the Denizli Travertine
Calcite is the main mineral in all varieties of the Denizli Travertine. However, some types of the travertine (e.g. banded or vein travertine) include aragonite in various amounts and rarely dolomite according to XRD analyses (Kele et al. 2011; Özkul et al. 2013). Although micrite (grains < 4 μm in dimension) is the most common, the banded travertine, crystalline crust travertine and secondary pore fills are formed mostly of spar and microspar calcite. Other than carbonate minerals, detrital minerals (e.g. quartz, gypsum, mica, goethite, smectite and kaolinite) are also present in very small quantities (Kele et al. 2011; Özkul et al. 2013; Soete et al. 2015).
Various names have been attributed to the travertine such as ‘peloidal travertine’, ‘micritic dendrite travertine’, ‘dendrite crust travertine’, ‘shrub travertine’, ‘bryophyte travertine’, ‘reed travertine’, ‘reed phyto travertine’, ‘gastropod travertine’,…etc. depending on the ratio of components such as peloid, phytoclast, cyanobacteria and crystalline dendrite and coated grains (e.g. pisolith, oncolith) (Table 1, Fig. 3) (see for more details Claes et al. 2015, 2017 and Aratman et al. 2020 references cited therein).
Chemical Composition
The chemical composition of the Denizli Travertine was carried out in detail in previous studies (Kele et al. 2011; Özkul et al. 2013; Lebatard et al. 2014; Claes et al. 2015, 2019; El Desouky et al. 2015). In these studies, along with major and trace elements, isotope data such as stable oxygen and carbon isotopes, Sr isotopes and fluid inclusions were also elaborated. Kele et al. (2011) focused only on the geochemistry of Pamukkale Travertine. On the other hand, the geochemical data provided by Lebatard et al. (2014); Claes et al. (2015, 2019) and El Desouky et al. (2015) are from the Ballık area. However, the geochemical data of Özkul et al. (2013) represent almost all travertine localities (Fig. 1). For this contribution, the major oxide components of the Denizli Travertine were compiled from Özkul et al. (2013) and their unpublished data (Table 2). Main component of the Denizli Travertine is CaO ranging from 50.57 to 56.36%. The second highest component, MgO, makes up between 0.02 and 0.84%. The Fe2O3 amount is 0.04 to 2.40%. In some travertines localities such as in Akköy and Karahayıt that are adjacent to Pamukkale, the iron content is higher compared to the others. In this case, the colour varies yellow–red to brown. The lowest Fe2O3 values were determined in the Pamukkale Travertines with 0.02–0.41%. The SiO2 ratio appears in almost all travertines varieties between 0.01 and 0.65% (Table 2).
Technical Properties
The travertine samples collected from the different localities of the Denizli Basin (Fig. 1) have been analysed for physico-mechanical characteristics at the Rock Mechanics Laboratory of Department of Geological Engineering, Pamukkale University. Geotechnical properties of the travertine samples, which have been given in Table 3, compiled from the published data (Çelik et al. 2014; Çelik and Çobanoğlu 2019; Soete et al. 2015). Tests were conducted in accordance with the related European standards. Dry and saturated unit weights and open porosity values were determined in accordance with the TS EN 1936 (2007) standard. Water absorption values were determined in accordance with the TS EN 13755 (2003), capillary water absorption tests were conducted in accordance with the TS EN 1925 (2000) standard. Böhme and Wide Wheel abrasion tests values which are important values for building stones used as floor claddings were measured in accordance with the EN 14157 (2004) standard. Flexural strength under concentrated load and uniaxial compressive strength tests were determined in accordance with the TS EN 12372 (2001) and TS EN 1926 (2007) standards, respectively. Sonic wave velocities were measured on core samples in accordance with the ASTM D2845 (2000) standard. The Denizli Travertine has been regarded as a building stone based on the properties mentioned above.
Quarries
The quarries of the Denizli Travertine have been grouped into ancient and recent quarries.
Ancient Quarries
Ancient travertine quarries are located mostly in Pamukkale, Karayıt and Yenicekent (Figs. 1, 4a-f). The field studies carried out at Pamukkale allowed to identify 21 banded travertine/alabaster quarries in a short distance from the city, within 3 km of the urban area (Scardozzi 2019; Scardozzi et al. 2019). Some of the quarries take place in the fissure ridges where particularly the banded travertine or alabaster were extracted in the central part along the ridge axis as in the Çukurbağ, Pamukkale (Fig. 4a-d) (Özkul et al. 2013; De Filippis et al. 2012; Brogi et al. 2014). In some cases, chisel marks can be observed on the quarry walls even today (Fig. 4b).
Second group of the ancient quarries are those excavated in the marbles of the Menderes Massive on the uplifted areas north and south margins of the graben (Fig. 1) (Koralay and Kılınçarslan 2015; Koralay 2017).
Recent Quarries
Recent quarries are distributed in different parts of the Denizli Basin (Figs. 1, 5). However, the quarries located mostly in the Ballık area, the number of which is around fifty there. Apart from Ballık, other travertine quarries located at Aşağıdağdere, Kocabaş, Gürlek, Karateke, Akköy, Gölemezli and Yenicekent (Fig. 1) (Özkul et al. 2013; Çelik et al. 2014). The travertine is quarried in blocks in open pit mines (Fig. 5a-d). On the other hand, the Denizli Travertine has been processed by more than 40 factories and workshops for years. In these stone processing units, the travertine blocks are cut into tiles and slabs of different sizes and shapes.
Use of Travertine
Historical Use
In the past, the Denizli Travertine has been used widely for ornamental and building stone in ancient cities of the Denizli Basin in western Türkiye. In these ancient cities, from the first century BC, the travertine was the most leading building material in the construction of fortification, theatre, agora, stadium, street, bridge, fountain, monumental tombs and aedicula etc. (Table 4). For example, in Roman period, the Theatre, Plutonum, Frontinus Gate, Necropole and Hammam Basilica in Hierapolis (Fig. 6a-f) (D’Andria 2003); Temple A, Syrian street, southern bath-gymnasium, banded travertine columns (Fig. 7a-c) and water distribution terminal and aqueduct line made of travertine blocks (Fig. 8a, b) in Laodikeia (Şimşek 2007; Şimşek et al. 2022); the Hierapolis Street, Monumental Fountain (Nymphaeum), Public Toilet (Latrina), Arched Building (Fig. 9a-d) and Tower of the Castle complex, monumental tomb and bridge (Fig. 10a-d) all made of almost the travertine blocks in Tripolis are significant structures (Duman 2013, 2017).
On the other hand, the Tower belonging to the Castle complex in the north of Tripolis (Fig. 9a), built for defense and surveillance purposes in the thirteenth century AD (Duman 2013, 2015). Travertine, marble and schist were the main stone material used in the castle construction. The second example of the architectural heritage of the Seljuk period at Tripolis is Monumental tomb (Fig. 9b) that was built in fourteenth century AD (Duman 2013). The travertine and marble blocks used in these two buildings were collected from the Ancient City of Tripolis.
Other Historical Use
Apart from the buildings, some tools made of travertine such as gang saw relief that is a lid of an ancient Roman sarcophagus at Pamukkale (Fig. 11a, b) and a mortar at Karahayıt, 2 km northwest of Pamukkale (Fig. 12a) and olive oil processing stone at Tripolis (Fig. 12b) have been observed.
In addition, various marbles of the Menderes Massive, which is pre-Neogene basement rocks of the Denizli basin, shelly sandstones and pebbly sandstones from the Neogene sequences were the subsequent building stones used in the region.
The banded travertines among the travertine varieties, called also ‘alabaster’ by archaeologists were commonly utilised for luxury or decorative objects. Small goods (i.e. bibelot, mosaic tables, vases of various form, bowls and dishes, drug jars) and greater objects (e.g. colossal statues, column, sarcophagi, ornamental tombs and street paving) made up from the banded travertines, have been documented in many archaeological studies (Koralay et al. 2018). Even this variety with name of ‘Coloured Hierapolis Marble’ was brought to Rome (Italy) during the Augustian period (Scardozzi 2019).
Contemporary Use
The first half of the 1980s was a milestone for the natural stone industry in Türkiye. Although Türkiye is rich in natural stone diversity, the number of stones quarried and processed until that time was quite limited. With the changes made in the mining law in these years, there has been a rapid development in the natural stone industry until today. Therefore, many quarries have been opened for various stones, factories have been established, and a significant part of the blocks and dimensional stones produced are exported worldwide. The Denizli Travertine is one of the leading stones mentioned above.
The architectural heritage built in the Denizli Travertine from two thousand years ago is still standing in the Çürüksu Graben. Influence of the semi-arid Mediterranean climate prevailing in the region is important factor in this statement. Contemporarily, a wide range of products of the travertine have emerged as a result of different processing techniques such as cuting (i.e. vein cut, cross cut), filling, honing, etching, polishing, blasting, sandblasting… etc. The stone, which can be easily processed, is preferred due to its color variety, texture, soft-aesthetic appearance (Fig. 13) and price compared to the many other natural stones. In 2011, the Denizli travertine was officially registered for geographical indication on behalf of the Denizli Chamber of Commerce in Türkiye (Fig. 14). Some examples of the qualified buildings and monuments where the travertine used at home and abroad are shown in Fig. 15. Prominent constructions among these are the governor's building (Denizli, Türkiye), Forum Çamlık Shopping Center (Denizli, Türkiye), Doğramacızade Ali Paşa Mosque (Ankara, Türkiye), Yalıkavak Marina (Bodrum, Türkiye), Bahrain International Airport (Manama, Bahrain), Museum Ritter (Waldenbuch, Germany), Conservatorium Hotel (Amsterdam, Netherlands) and Miskolc University (Hungary) (Table 5, Fig. 15).
In addition to flooring and cladding, garden fountain, table, coffee table, stair, kitchen countertop and bathroom sink made up travertine could be mentioned. On the other hand, one of the natural stone companies in the Denizli province has been organizing International Sculpture Colony in front of the factory garden annually for a long time and many works of art sculptures have emerged. Some of the statues were made by carwing the travertine (Fig. 16a-d).
The Denizli Travertine is exported to many countries as blocks, tiles and slabs. The leading export countries are the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Germany, Spain Poland, Greece, Romania, the U.K., the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Conclusion
The Denizli Extensional Basin in western Türkiye has widespread Quaternary travertine exposures. These travertines are easy to process and suitable as building blocks. Petrographically, the travertine deposits are mostly porous and in micritic textures, except for several lithotypes such as the banded travertine and crystalline crust travertine. The Denizli Travertine has been widely used in many architectural heritages of the ancient cities of the Lycus Valley in western Türkiye from the third century BC to fourteenth century AD. For the last few decades, the stone increasingly demands in domestic and foreign markets due to its rich selections based on warm-feeling colours, and textures. The stone traded commonly as “Denizli Travertine” is sold as block and dimension stone including tile, slab, clad, countertop, sculpture, garden furniture, etc. It is exported to many countries from five continents i.e., countries of the Middle East and European Union, Taiwan, South Korea, the USA, the UK, Australia, Africa, and New Zealand. For the reasons mentioned above, we are encouraged to nominate the Denizli Travertine as a ‘Global Heritage Stone Resource’.
References
Alçiçek H, Varol B, Özkul M (2007) Sedimentary facies, depositional environments and palaeogeographic evolution of the Neogene Denizli Basin of SW Anatolia. Turk Sed Geol 202:596–637
Altunel E, Barka A (1996) Evaluation of archaeoseismic damages at Hierapolis. Geol Bull Turk 39:65–74 (in Turkish)
Altunel E, Hancock PL (1993) Morphology and structural setting of Quaternary travertines at Pamukkale. Turk Geol J 28:335–346
Aratman C, Özkul M, Swennen R, Hollis C, Erthal MM, Claes H, Mohammadi Z (2020) The Giant Quaternary Ballık Travertine System in The Denizli Basin (SW Turkey): A Palaeoenvironmental Analysis. Quaternaire 30(2):91–116
ASTM D 2845 (2000) Standard Test Method for Laboratory Determination of Pulse Velocities and Ultrasonic Elastic Constants of Rock. ASTM Standards 04.08
Beyazıt M (2017) Denizli’de Anadolu Selçuklu Kervansarayları. Denizli Büyükşehir Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, Yayın 117:312
Bozkaya G, Bozkaya Ö, Akın T (2024) Stable isotope geochemistry evidences from fossil carbonate and sulfur minerals on the origin of geothermal water, Kızıldere Geothermal Field, Western Turkey. Geochemistry, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemer.2024.126089
Bozkurt E, Oberhänsli R (2001) Menderes massive (Western Turkey): structural, metamorphic and magmatic evolution–a synthesis. Int J Earth Sci 89:679–708
Brogi A, Capezzuoli E, Alçiçek MC, Gandin A (2014) Evolution of a fault-controlled fissure-ridge type travertine deposit in the western Anatolia extensional province: The Çukurbağ fissure-ridge (Pamukkale, Turkey). J Geol Soc 34:1–17
Candan O, Koralay OE, Akal C, Kaya O, Oberhänsli R, Dora OÖ, Konak N, Chen F (2011) Supra-Pan-African unconformity between core and cover series of the Menderes Massif/Turkey and its geological implications. Precambr Res 184(1–4):1–23
Capezzuoli E, Ruggieri G, Rimondi V, Brogi A, Liotta D, Alçiçek MC, Alçiçek H, Bülbül A, Gandin A, Meccheri M, Shen C-C, Baykara MO (2018) Calcite veining and feeding conduits in a hydrothermal system: insights from a natural section across the Pleistocene Gölemezli travertine depositional system (western Anatolia, Turkey). Sed Geol 364:180–203
Çelik SB, Çobanoğlu İ (2019) Investigation of relations between P and S wave velocities and some physical and uniaxial compressive strength properties in Denizli Travertines. J Polytech 22(2):341–349. https://doi.org/10.2339/politeknik.444370
Çelik MY, Sert M (2020) The importance of “Pavonazzetto marble” (Docimium-Phrygia/Iscehisar-Turkey) since ancient times and its properties as a global heritage stone resource. Environ Earth Sci 79:201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-020-08943-2
Çelik SB, Çobanoğlu İ, Atatanır L (2014) General material properties of Denizli (SW Turkey) travertines as a building stone. Bull Eng Geol Environ 73:825–838
Claes H, Soete J, Van Noten K, El Desouky H, Marques Erthal M, Vanhaecke F, Özkul M, Swennen R (2015) Sedimentology, three-dimensional geobody reconstruction and carbon dioxide origin of Pleistocene travertine deposits in the Ballık area (south-west Turkey). Sedimentology 62(5):1408–1445
Claes H, Erthal MM, Soete J, Özkul M, Swennen R (2017) Shrub and pore type classification: Petrography of travertine shrubs from the Ballık-Belevi area (Denizli, SW Turkey). Quatern Int 437:147–163
Claes H, Huysmans M, Soete J, Dirix K, Vassilieva E, Erthal MM, Vandewijngaerde W, Hamaekers H, Aratman C, Özkul M, Swennen R (2019) Elemental geochemistry to complement stable isotope data of fossil travertine: Importance of digestion method and statistics. Sed Geol 386:118–131
Çobanoğlu İ (2015) Prediction and identification of capillary water absorption capacity of travertine dimension stone. Arab J Geosci 8:10135–10149
Çobanoğlu İ, Çelik SB (2012) Determination of strength parameters and quality assessment of Denizli travertines (SW Turkey). Eng Geol 129–130:38–47
Çobanoğlu İ, Çelik SB, Alkaya D (2010) Correlation between “wide wheel abrasion (capon)” and “Bohme abrasion” test results for some carbonate rocks. Sci Res Essays 5(22):3398–3404
D’Andria F (2003) Arkeoloji Rehberi Hierapolis (Pamukkale) Ege Yayınları, İstanbul p. 240
De Filippis L, Faccenna C, Billi A, Anzalone E, Brilli M, Ozkul M, Soligo M, Tuccimei P, Villa IM (2012) Growth of fissure ridge travertines from geothermal springs of Denizli Basin, western Turkey. Geol Soc Am Bull 124(9–10):1629–1645
Duman B (2013) Son Arkeolojik Araştırmalar ve Yeni Bulgular Işığında Tripolis ve Meandrum (Tripolis AD Meandrum: The Latest Archaeological Research Results and New Finds). Cedrus 1:179–200
Duman B (2015) Trıpolis’teki Geç Bizans Kalesi. In Şimşek C, Duman B, Konakçı E (eds) Mustafa Büyükkolancı’ya Armağan (Essays in Honour of Mustafa Büyükkolancı). Ege yayınları. pp 229–245
Duman B (2017) Tripolis’in Yeri, Önemi ve Kısa Tarihi, Ed: B. Duman, Tripolis and Maeandrum, Tripolis Araştırmaları I, Ege Yayınları, 1–16
El Desouky H, Soete J, Claes H, Özkul M, Vanhaecke F, Swennen R (2015) Novel applications of fluid inclusions and isotope geochemistry in unravelling the genesis of fossil travertine systems. Sedimentology 62(1):27–56
EN 14157 (2004) Natural stones - Determination of abrasion resistance. European Standard, 19p
Erdoğan B, Güngör T (2004) The problem of the core-cover boundary of the Menderes Massive and an emplacement mechanism for regionally extensive gneissic granites, western Anatolia (Turkey). Turk J Earth Sci 13:15–36
Faccenna C, Soligo M, Billi A, De Filippis L, Funiciello R, Rossetti C, Tuccimei P (2008) Late Pleistocene depositional cycles of the Lapis Tiburtinus travertine (Tivoli, Central Italy): possible influence of climate and fault activity. Global Planet Change 63:299–308
Grawehr M (2022) Travertine in Rome: Its Style and Meaning. In: Haug A, Hielscher A, Lauritsen MT (eds) Materiality in Roman Art and Architecture: Aesthetics, Semantics and Function. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 162–179. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110764734-010
Gündoğan İ, Helvacı C, Sözbilir H (2008) Gypsiferous carbonates at Honaz Dağı (Denizli): first documentation of Triassic gypsum in western Turkey and its tectonic significance. J Asian Earth Sci 32:49–65
Guo L, Riding R (1998) Hot-spring travertine facies and sequences, Late Pleistocene Rapolano Terme. Italy Sedimentol 45:163–180
Hancock PL, Chalmers RML, Altunel E, Çakir Z, Becher-Hancock A (2000) Creation and destruction of travertine monumental stone by earthquake faulting at Hierapolis, Turkey. In: McGuire WG, Griffiths DR, Hancock PL, Stewart IS (Eds.), The Archaeology of Geological Catastrophes: The Geological Society, London. Special Publications, 171, pp. 1–14
IUGS (2022) The First 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Sites, ISBN: 978–1–7923–9975–6. Edited & Published by IUGS (International Union of Geological Sciences). 301 pages
Jones B, Renaut RW (2010) Calcareous spring deposits in continental settings. In: Alonso Zarza AM, Taner LH (Eds.), Carbonates in Continental Settings: Facies, Environments, and Processes. : Developments in Sedimentology, 61. Elsevier, pp. 177–224
Kaur G, Kaur P, Ahuja A, Singh A, Saini J, Agarwal P, Bhargava ON, Pandit M, Goswami RG, Acharya K, Garg S (2020a) Jaisalmer Golden Limestone: A Heritage Stone Resource from the Desert of Western India. Geoheritage 12(53):1–16
Kaur G, Bhargava ON, Ruiz de Argandoña VG, Thakur SN, Singh A, Saini J, Kaur P, Sharma U, Garg S, Singh JJ, Cárdenes V (2020b) Proterozoic Slates from Chamba and Kangra: a Heritage Stone Resource from Himachal Pradesh. India Geoheritage 12:79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-020-00487-y
Kaypak B, Gökkaya G (2012) 3-D imaging of the upper crust beneath the Denizli geothermal region by local earthquake tomography, western Turkey. J Volcanol Geoth Res 211–212:47–60
Kazancı N, Gürbüz N (2014) Jeolojik Miras Nitelikli Türkiye Doğal Taşları (Natural Stones Qualified as Geological Heritage in Turkey). Türk Jeol Bül (Geol Bull Turk) 57(1):19–44
Kazancı N, Adıyaman Lopes Ö (2022) Stones of Göbeklitepe, SE Anatolia, Turkey: an Example of the Shaping of Cultural Heritage by Local Geology Since the Early Neolithic. Geoheritage 14(57):1–18
Kele S, Özkul M, Gökgöz A, Fórizs I, Baykara MO, Alçiçek MC, Németh T (2011) Stable isotope geochemical and facies study of Pamukkale travertines: new evidences of low-temperature non-equilibrium calcite-water fractionation. Sed Geol 238:191–212
Koçyiğit A (2005) The Denizli graben–horst system and the eastern limit of western Anatolian continental extension: basin-fill, structure, deformational mode, throw amount and episodic evolutionary history. SW Turk Geodin Acta 18:167–208
Koralay T, Kılınçarslan S (2015) Minero-petrographic and isotopic characterization of two antique marble quarries in the Deni̇zli̇ region (western Anatolia, Turkey). Periodico Di Mineral 84(2):263–288
Koralay T, Baykara MO, Deniz K, Kadıoğlu YK, Duman B, Shen C-C (2018) Multi-Isotope Investigations for Scientific Characterisation and Provenance Implication of Banded Travertines from Tripolis Antique City (Denizli–Turkey). Environ Archaeol. https://doi.org/10.1080/14614103.2018.1498164
Koralay T (2017) Archaeometric characterization of the recently discovered Yenişehir Marble Quarry in the Denizli region. In: Eds. Ismaelli T, Scardozzi G (eds) Ancient Quarries and Building Sites in Asia Minor, Research on Hierapolis in Phrygia and other cities in south-western Anatolia: archaeology, archaeometry, conservation. 119–130 https://doi.org/10.4475/819
Kumsar H, Aydan Ö, Şimşek C, D’Andria F (2015) Historical earthquakes that damaged Hierapolis and Laodikeia antique cities and their implications for earthquake potential of Denizli basin in western Turkey. Bull Eng Geol Env 75:519–536
Lahaye M, Dusar M, Jagt JWM, Kisters P, Berto T, Cnudde V, Dubelaar CW, De Kock T (2022) The Transversal Heritage of Maastricht Stone, a Potential Global Heritage Stone Resource from Belgium and the Netherlands. Geoheritage 49:15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-022-00683-y
Lebatard AE, Alçiçek MC, Rochette P, Khatib S, Vialet A, Boulbes N, Bourlès DL, Demory F, Guipert G, Mayda S, Titov VV, Vidal L, de Lumley H (2014) Dating the Homo erectus bearing travertine from Kocabaş (Denizli, Turkey) at at least 1.1 Ma. Earth Planet Sci Lett 390:8–18
Marker BR (2015) Procedures and criteria for the definition of Global Heritage Stone Resources. In: Pereira D, Marker B, Kramar S, Cooper B, Schouenborg B (eds) Global Heritage Stone: towards international recognition of building and ornamental stones. Geol Soc Lond Spec Publ 407: 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1144/SP407.7
Okay AI (1989) Denizli’nin güneyinde Menderes masifi ve Likya naplarinin jeolojisi. Maden Tetkik Ve Arama Dergisi 109:45–48
Özkul M (2019) Markalaşmış bir doğaltaş: Denizli Traverteni. Mavi Gezegen 26:71–78
Özkul M, Varol B, Alçiçek MC (2002) Depositional environments and petrography of the Denizli travertines. Bull Mineral Res Explor 125:13–29
Özkul M, Kele S, Gökgöz A, Shen C-C, Jones B, Baykara MO, Fόrizs I, Nemeth T, Chang Y-W, Alçiçek MC (2013) Comparison of the Quaternary travertine sites in the Denizli Extensional Basin based on their depositional and geochemical data. Sed Geol 294:179–204
Pedley HM (2009) Tufas and travertines of the Mediterranean region: a testing ground for freshwater carbonate concepts and developments. Sedimentology 56:221–246
Pereira D, Tourneur F, Bernáldez L, Blazquez G (2015) Petit Granit: a Belgian limestone used in heritage, construction and sculpture. Episodes 38(2):85–90
Pfanz H, Yüce G, Gülbay AH, Gökgöz A (2018) Deadly CO2 gases in the Plutonium of Hierapolis (Denizli, Turkey). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 11: 1359–1371, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-018-0599-5
Piccardi L (2007) The AD 60 Denizli Basin earthquake and the apparition of Archangel Michael at Colossae (Aegean Turkey). In: Piccardi, L., Masse, W.B. (Eds.), Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 273, pp. 95–105
Primavori P (2015) Carrara Marble: a nomination for ‘Global Heritage Stone Resource’ from Italy. Geol Soc Lond Spec Publ 407(1):137–154
Scardozzi G (2019) The Provenance of marbles and alabasters used in the monuments of Hierapolis in Phrygia (Turkey): New ınformation from a systematic review and integration of archaeological and archaeometric data. Heritage 2:519–552
Scardozzi G, Brilli M, Giustini F (2019) Calcite alabaster artifacts from Hierapolis in Phrygia, Turkey: Provenance determination using carbon and oxygen stable isotopes. Geoarchaeology 34:169–186
Shiraishi F, Akimoto T, Tomioka N, Motai S, Takahashi Y (2023) Formation processes of paper-thin raft and coated bubble: Calciumcarbonate deposition at gas–water interface. Sed Geol 456:106514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2023.106514
Şimşek C, Yener B, İnceelgil Y (2022) Laodikeia Asopos (Gümüşçay) Köprüsü. Höyük Türk Tarih Kurumu 10:97–128
Şimşek C (2007) Laodikeia (Laodikeia AD Lycum), Ege Yayınları, İstanbul, p. 384
Soete J, Kleipool LM, Claes H, Claes S, Hamaekers H, Kele S, Özkul M, Foubert A, Reijmer JJG, Swennen R (2015) Acoustic properties in travertines and their relation to porosity and pore types. Mar Petrol Geol 59:320–335
TS EN 12372 (2001) Natural stone test methods-determination of flexural strength under concentrated load. Turkish Standard Institute Publication, 8p
TS EN 13755 (2003) Natural stone test methods - Determination of water absorption at atmospheric pressure. Turkish Standard Institute Publication, 7p
TS EN 1925 (2000) Natural stone test methods-determination of water absorption coefficient by capillarity. Turkish Standard Institute Publication, 9p
TS EN 1926 (2007) Stone test methods-determination of uniaxial compressive strength. Turkish Standard Institute Publication, 17p
TS EN 1936 (2007) Natural stone test methods - Determination of real density and apparent density, and of total and open porosity. Turkish Standard Institute Publication, 13p
Utku M (2009) Etkinlik ve yığınsal etkinlik dönemlerine göre Denizli depremlerinin analizi. Maden Tetkik Ve Arama Dergisi 138:9–34
Van Noten K, Claes H, Soete J, Foubert A, Özkul M, Swennen R (2013) Fracture networks and strike-slip deformation along reactivated normal faults in Quaternary travertine deposits, Denizli Basin, western Turkey. Tectonophysics 588:154–170
Van Noten K, Topal S, Baykara MO, Özkul M, Claes H, Aratman C, Swennen R (2019) Pleistocene-Holocene tectonic reconstruction of the Ballık travertine (Denizli Graben, SW Turkey): (de)formation of large travertine geobodies at intersecting grabens. J Struct Geol 118:114–134
Acknowledgements
The researches on the Denizli Travertine were made possible thanks to the funding received from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye–TUBITAK (Grants YDABÇAG-198Y100 and ÇAYDAG 106Y207 to Özkul). The authors would like to acknowledge everyone who helped create this manuscript. Particularly, they would like to thank Mr. Ahmet Serter from Başaranlar Company, and Mr. İlker Kömürcüoğlu from Kömürcüoğlu Company, for sharing their photographs of the Contemporary use (domestic and international) of Denizli Travertine, and the Nihat Kömürcüoğlu Foundation (NKV) for their sculpture photographs.
Funding
Open access funding provided by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
About this article
Cite this article
Özkul, M., Gül, A., Koralay, T. et al. Denizli Travertine: A Global Heritage Stone Resource Nominee from Western Türkiye. Geoheritage 16, 67 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-024-00970-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-024-00970-w