Abstract
Diagnosing the weathering of stones used in built heritage is essential for their preservation. Samples taken from the surface and the core stones of Al-Ziggurat walls in the archaeological city of Al-Nimrud (North Iraq) were characterized. Stone samples from a quarry believed to be the origin of the stones used in the construction of Al-Nimrud were also characterized. Physical properties, pore space system, mineralogical and chemical compositions and microstructural properties of historic, fresh and weathered stones were determined by various complementary techniques at the microscopic level. Results show that the main damage observed on the stone surface of Al-Ziggurat walls is due to salt weathering. Gypsum is the predominant salt and probably originated from the soil in contact with the stones during burial of the walls. Results also indicate that the characteristics of samples of the core of historic stone are quite similar to those of the fresh stone extracted from the quarry, demonstrating that the core of the historic stone is unweathered and that this quarry was probably the source of the construction material for Al-Ziggurat. This means that these fresh stones could be used in future restoration work.
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Al-Omari, A., Beck, K., Brunetaud, X. et al. Weathering of limestone on Al-Ziggurat walls in the ancient Al-Nimrud city (Iraq). Environ Earth Sci 74, 609–620 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-4064-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-4064-9