A holistic approach to the assessment of the groundwater destructive effects on stone decay in Edfu temple using AAS, SEM-EDX and XRD

El-Gohary, Mohamed A.

doi:10.1007/s12665-015-4849-x

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Limestone in queen Khenut's tomb has suffered many deterioration phenomena as a result of hard action of environmental and manmade factors. The following scientific methods and analytical techniques have been used to inspect not only the effect of internal factors, but also the external factors that have affected the building materials in order to recognize their deterioration mechanisms and forms [17][18][19][20][21][22].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decaying Patterns of Queen Khenut Tomb in Saqqara, Giza, Egypt

Abdelmegeed

Khalaf

Reffaat

2021

Egyptian Journal of Archaeological and Restoration Studies

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Archaeological monuments of Saqqara region are affected by cracking, weathering and man-made actions that have resulted in different types of deterioration in the long run. Accordingly historical masonry tombs in Saqqara require a full characterization of the materials used for their construction, before any restoration processes. The assessment of the mechanical and physical characteristics of the building materials is based on visual observation, sampling of the building materials used and laboratory testing of the samples (bulk density, porosity, water absorption, optical microscope, polarizing microscope (PM), XRD, SEM, compressive strength, …etc.).The present study is concerned with the restoration and reconstruction of a masonry tomb in Saqqara (Tomb of Queen Khenut), which over the years suffered significant damage due to various deterioration actions. Limestone used in the construction of historical buildings in Saqqara is classified as carbonates and salts with carbonate fragments stone. The stone is composed of carbonate cuttings; each of them is broclastic limemud stone to weak stone. This structure generally presents heterogeneous granular texture; with a very rare matrix and low cementation level between the internal components, causing a fair development of intergranular porosity. The values of bulk density are ranging from 2.22 to 2.33 gm/cm 3 . Otherwise, the results of porosity reveal remarkable differences between the different samples. Also the stone has low compressive strength values (The uniaxial compressive strength values varied from 96 to 104 Kg/cm 2 ), due to the defects in its internal structure and decaying products. Finally, a damage description was carried out to identify the decaying forms. It is the basis for the quantitative rating of limestone damage by means of damage forms and products. Limestone in Queen Khenut's Tomb exhibits the need for restoration and preservation procedures.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decaying Patterns of Queen Khenut Tomb in Saqqara, Giza, Egypt

Abdelmegeed

Khalaf

Reffaat

2021

Egyptian Journal of Archaeological and Restoration Studies

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“…The groundwater system in the study area is highly influenced by the irrigation system, unplanned urban sprawling and the Nile flow. Groundwater quality around the Horus temple is characterized by a high salinity index [82]. Also, soil characteristics are an important factor that must be studied to detect the groundwater effects on the temple structure, also the types of salts in the soil and their proportions to decide how these components pose a danger to the archaeological remains.…”

Section: Problem Definitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrological and archaeological studies to detect the deterioration of Edfu temple in Upper Egypt due to environmental changes during the last five decades

Megahed

2020

SN Appl. Sci.

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Archaeological sites in Upper Egypt, especially Edfu Temple, are considered a wealth of human civilization and are irreplaceable. Deterioration of archaeological sites due to environmental changes in Edfu city include disintegration and exfoliation of stones, dissolution of building materials, loss of moral paintings, crystallization of salts in walls and columns, stone bleeding, destruction of wall paintings and texts, decreasing of durability of monumental stones, and discolouring. Recently, the archaeological field has received a lot of interest from Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) users to observe the impact of environmental changes on archaeological sites during long periods. CORONA, LANDSAT, and SENTINEL-2A satellite images are our tools in detecting the changes around the study area and creating innovative solutions. Results from the analysis conducted suggest that most of the environmental changes in the study area are caused by uncontrolled urban sprawling and rising groundwater levels due to agricultural and urban expansion. The proximity of agricultural lands to archaeological areas has also affected the rise in groundwater levels. This has also played an important role in the transfer of chemical contaminants with the leaking water of soil to these archaeological sites, resulting in the growth of salt crystals. In this research, the environmental hazards and their effects are being observed for the archaeological sites of Edfu city (Upper Egypt). A comprehensive analysis has been conducted for the Horus Temple considering its building material, soil characteristics and environmental setting. Finally, we have created some models to protect the archaeological sites from environmental changes by the integration of remote sensing and GIS techniques.

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“…Weathering is applied to all mechanisms of alteration of building materials. It can be classified according to its origin, as follows *) chemical weathering; concerning the stone solubility or reactivity with other factors of deterioration, such as air pollutants [17,25,26] and *) physical weathering; concerning the stone resistance to expansive stress within the pore structure, e.g. salt crystallization [27].…”

Section: Damage Identification (Diagnosis)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(6-a,b) indicate that limestone samples have wide ranges of deterioration features, including cavities, micro-cracks, small fissures, smoothing of the outer surface of calcite grains, eroded pits, and salt crystals, e.g. halite [10,12,26]. Halite crystals existed as a major salt since it is the predominant salt species in the Egyptian soil [34].…”

Section: Sem and Edx (Morphological Description And Chemicalcompositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This process particularly accelerated with alternative cycles between the air temperature and the sources of moisture (wetting and drying cycles) [36]. However, the higher value of weathering products, particularly halite was due to the combination of surrounding deterioration factors, especially groundwater, sewage, and lack infrastructure system [10,26] In the 2 nd category (sample R 3 ), the presence of calcite CaCo 3 as a major mineral was due essentially to some sheltered areas that have not been affected by the dissolution process [37]. However, the weathering products as minor or trace minerals were because the samples are away from the effect of the weathering process.…”

Section: Sem and Edx (Morphological Description And Chemicalcompositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Diagnostic Investigation of Decaying Limestone in Historical Buildings at the Mamluks Cemetery- City of the Dead, Egypt

Abdelmegeed

Hassan

2019

Egyptian Journal of Archaeological and Restoration Studies

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The Mamluks cemetery, City of the dead, is one of the famous historical Islamic places that contain many outstanding structures. Limestone, which is the main building material used in the Mamluks cemetery buildings, always underwent weathering processes and deterioration factors. The present study is an analytical and petrographic assessment of limestone used in historical buildings in Cairo-Egypt. It is organized into three main sections. The first section provides a historical background of Mamluks cemetery. The second one sets out to evaluate the current situation of the decaying limestone. The third section explains the alteration mechanisms between deterioration forms and surrounding environmental factors. Visual, microscopic, and laboratory analysis by means of PM, XRD, and EDX highlighted the causes of limestone decaying. The decay phenomena of limestone in the (City of the dead) are independent of the exposure of the architectural surface and are strongly influenced by the sedimentary nature (micro laminations), which acts with the formation and distribution of salts as preferential planes for the formation of aggressive weathering forms. Another issue is related to the formation of cavities. Furthermore, small quartz grains occasionally occupy some shell cavities (chambers).

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A holistic approach to the assessment of the groundwater destructive effects on stone decay in Edfu temple using AAS, SEM-EDX and XRD

Cited by 21 publications

References 20 publications

Decaying Patterns of Queen Khenut Tomb in Saqqara, Giza, Egypt

Decaying Patterns of Queen Khenut Tomb in Saqqara, Giza, Egypt

Hydrological and archaeological studies to detect the deterioration of Edfu temple in Upper Egypt due to environmental changes during the last five decades

Diagnostic Investigation of Decaying Limestone in Historical Buildings at the Mamluks Cemetery- City of the Dead, Egypt

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