Thèses sur le sujet « Stone preservation »

In 1851 and 1866, Alexander Dunlop, a free black living in Williamsburg, VA, purchased tombstones to commemorate the lives of his father-in-law, Robert F. Hill, and of his wife, Lucy Ann Dunlop. Such purchases were rarities among Virginia’s free black community, and these particular gravestones are made more significant by Dunlop’s choice of text, his political advocacy, and the racialized rhetoric of the period. Buried by a white church in the 1920s and later by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the tombstones were rediscovered in 2004 and became the center of a long-term conservation initiative, which ended in 2016. This thesis examines the story of the tombstones, contrasting them with other regional memory projects, such as the remembrance of the Civil War dead and the erection of monuments to the Lost Cause. The research utilizes a fusion of object biography and micro-historical approaches that allows the strength of each approach to be adopted while rejecting some of their limitations. Data from a regional survey of nineteenth-century cemeteries, historical accounts, literary sources, and the visual arts are woven together to explore the agentive relationships between monuments, their commissioners, their creators, their viewers and the ways in which memory is created and contested and how this impacts the history we learn and preserve.

The thesis deals with the study and development of water repellent mortars, made with water- repellent admixtures , suitable for the protection, maintenance and restoration of historical and civil buidings. This study deals with the damage processes due to the action of water (both as direct action and or as carrier of pollutants and soluble salts) on the building materials and evaluates the durability of water-repellent mortars in different environmental conditions. The study considers the interactions of different water repellent admixtures on the hydration reactions of some binders and the resistance to the physical degradation due to the crystallization of soluble salts or the exposure to UV light and rain. Some mixes were applied also on salty masonries. Different analytical techniques (FT-IR, TG-DSC, SEM-EDX, XRD), test according to the european normative, porosimetric ultrasonic measurements and IR- thermography were used.
Il lavoro di tesi riguarda lo studio di malte idrorepellenti preparate con l’utilizzo di additivi idrofobizzanti per la protezione, la manutenzione e il recupero delle superfici architettoniche storiche e civili. Questo studio considera in particolare i processi di degrado causati dalla presenza di acqua (per azione diretta o come mezzo di trasporto di inquinanti e sali solubili) sui materiali dell’edilizia e valuta la durabilità di malte idrorepellenti in varie condizioni ambientali. Lo studio ha considerato l’influenza di diversi additivi idrorepellenti sull’idratazione di alcuni leganti e la resistenza all’azione di degrado fisico conseguente la cristallizzazione di Sali o l’esposizione a radiazioni UV e alla pioggia. Alcuni impasti sono stati applicati su modelli di murature sottoposti a risalita capillare di soluzioni saline. Lo sviluppo della ricerca ha previsto il ricorso a numerose tecniche analitiche (FT-IR, TG-DSC, SEM-EDX, XRD, MIP), test normati e analisi non invasive.

The aim of this research was to develop a new harvest maturity index for highly coloured stone fruit that is not affected by seasonal or climatic factors. The judgement of commercial maturity is difficult with some cultivars of stone fruit because they develop intense skin pigmentation several days before they are ripe. Studies of the changes of the physiochemical and physiological parameters associated with ripening confirmed that no single measurement is suitable for the assessment of harvest maturity in the Japanese type plum cultivars(Prunus salicina Lindl). Two distinct patterns of ripening behaviour were identified. The cool storage (0 degrees Centigrade) responses of fruit harvested at three stages of maturity were examined. Total soluble proteins were extracted and separated from fruit during maturation and ripening using 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis. At least three proteins were first detected in fruit at optimum commercial harvest maturity. Since Gulfruby, Beauty and Rubyred (Japanese type plum cultivars) accumulated similar concentrations of aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid(ACC), it was suggested that the suppressed-climacteric phenotype is the result of an impaired ability of the fruit to convert this compound to ethylene
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) (Ph.D.)

The Judge Earl Stone House, built in 1849, is one of the oldest existing structures in Noblesville, Indiana, the county seat of Hamilton County, which is located immediately north of Indianapolis and Marion County. Originally built as a residence, it has been used for commercial purposes since the middle of the twentieth century. Last occupied in 1998 when it was used as a gift store, it has remained vacant, causing its condition to deteriorate.This creative project documents the current condition of the building, offers recommendations for the preservation of the exterior and foundation of the structure, provides a maintenance schedule to prevent further deterioration, and recommends two adaptive reuses.
Department of Architecture

Shelters, as preventive conservation methods, have traditionally been considered a better option than leaving the site exposed. However, there has been limited research on their effect on the preservation of heritage materials and, as a result, there is no clear scientific evidence to support sheltering. This study aims to provide the first rigorous scientific assessment of the effect of lightweight, open shelters on limestone deterioration at archaeological sites. A method based on the use of low-cost environmental monitoring equipment and limestone blocks and tablets (as indicators of decay) has been developed to determine the degree of protection provided by the shelters at the Bishop' Palace (Witney, England) and Hagar Qim (Malta). Preliminary visual assessments of the field sites were followed by 12-18 month exposure trials. Temperature extremes and fluctuations, frost events, relative humidity extremes and fluctuations, NaCl crystallisation events, solar radiation, wetting events, salt content, atmospheric pollutants and dust deposition were monitored. In addition, stone decay was studied by analysing changes in weight, elasticity, surface hardness, ultrasonic pulse velocity, surface colour, moisture content and general appearance (microscopic and macroscopic pictures) in stone samples. An exhaustive assessment of the shelter at the Bishop's Palace was carried out using Chalk, Cotswold and Portland limestone blocks as well as Portland limestone tablets (specifically for studying dissolution, soiling and biological growth). Additionally, a comparative assessment of the effects of the two shelters in contrasting climatic environments, the Bishop's Palace (temperate maritime) and Hagar Qim (Mediterranean), was undertaken by monitoring Globigerina and Coralline limestone blocks simultaneously at both sites. The research has shown that lightweight, open shelters do not exclude decay completely but minimise it. However, there are some areas at higher risk of decay, i.e. top parts of the walls and the periphery. In addition, problems with the shelter design can enhance some decay mechanisms, such as biocolonisation on the periphery at the Bishop's Palace and dust deposition under the shelter at Hagar Qim. Therefore, the effectiveness of shelters should not be assumed.

This thesis, completed in an architectural design studio, addresses the conflicts between, and potential compatibilities of, historic preservation and urban residential density through consideration of the specific case of downtown Tucson’s very low residential density and two commercial buildings therein. 128 and 130 E Congress Street, constructed in 1903, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and have housed the JC Penney Company (1927 - 1957) and the Chicago Store music store (1967 - today). A 20,000 square foot, three story residential addition above the existing building is proposed. Appropriate rehabilitation of existing underutilized historic buildings is considered simultaneously with the introduction of vertical residential additions. Many issues of compatible yet distinct additions are addressed including: scale, mass, material, and form; structure and circulation; efficient indoor/outdoor residences; and the poetics of old and new and the liminal spaces between. These issues are examined through photography, diagrams, text, architectural drawings in orthographic and isometric projection, analysis of census data, analysis of architectural precedent, and architectural perspective renderings. Particular attention is paid to structural issues and a thorough analysis of preservation issues of significance, period of significance, character defining features, and integrity.

This thesis proposes that cultural heritage preservation in the event of armed conflict is negotiated through four main frameworks: (1) a political framework of independent governments and UNESCO; (2) a legal framework of international conventions and agreements; (3) a civil framework including local communities and non-governmental organizations; and (4) an armed forces framework spanning military and militant groups. These four frameworks operate in conjunction with one another, at times in complementary or in contradictory ways. Given the intimate connection of immoveable cultural sites to the dynamics of cultural identity, it is assumed in this thesis that the intentional destruction of cultural heritage property is akin to the destruction of a group's cultural identity and to a greater extent a crucial component of ethnic cleansing in connection with social identity theory.

This thesis analyzes the English National Trust’s interpretation of the making and reception of Stowe Landscape Garden. Specifically, this is a critique of the Trust’s narrative of nationalism, which is overlaid by the use of romantic interpretive themes. Arguably, Stowe’s first contribution was the combination of expressions of nature through landscape with architectural and sculptural monuments of Englishness. The National Trust, however, has combined interpretations of multiple landscape gardens across a century, thus blurring its actual significance. Stowe has been lumped into a jumbled framework of anachronistic landscape commentary much based in the literature of reception. The use of receptive history as fact to define concepts like ‘Englishness’, ‘Landscape Garden’, and the ‘Picturesque’ only further aid the unsustainable development of the historical landscape. Stowe is recognized as the most extensive extant landscape garden to exemplify contributions by the first four designers in the medium: Vanbrugh, Bridgeman, Kent, and Brown. Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s place-making role in the history of English landscape, much derided by the proponents of the Picturesque, found its first expression at Stowe from 1740 to 1751. Thus, Stowe’s Brownian dominant landscape, of which the bones are still largely intact, should be used as the designated period of interpretation. In this way, the National Trust could fulfill a modern desire for connection to nature, and with greater specificity, diversity and transparency in historical accounts, expand the accessibility of ‘Englishness’ in the form the consummate national landscape garden.

xv, 298 p. ; ill. (chiefly col.), maps (chiefly col.) A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries under the call number: AAA F868.Y6 G47 2004
This study describes existing conditions, evaluates significance and historic integrity, and recommends treatment strategies to preserve historic elements of the Nevada Fall Corridor cultural landscape in Yosemite National Park. It reports findings from field investigation that examined and inventoried landscape features such as stone retaining walls, treadway material, bridges and causeways, and water features on both current-use and abandoned trail segments. The site was examined numerous times over a three-month period, with a followup visit one year later. Libraries and other archives were consulted for written and photographic historic documentation, which were analyzed against current conditions. The process also involved review of comparison documents as well as national guidelines set forth by the National Park Service.
Adviser: Melnick, Robert Z.

This essay focuses upon the Kivik monument and its conservation difficulties, since its discovery at 1748 until modern time. The Kivik monument is found in southeast of Scania, and dated within the Bronze Age period. The perspective of the conservation on the monument has merely been on the monuments inner cist of stone and the rock carvings on the cist-slabs. When the monument was first archaeological examined at 1931, its sizeable cairn (75 m in diameter) had almost vanished and the cist was sheltered by a casing of concrete and metal roof. Between 1932 and 1933 the monument has undergone a large-scale restoration, and this criticized restoration resulted in a low antiquarian value with the responsible authority. With a low antiquarian value, the protection of ancient monuments by national laws is nearly none and the interest by responsible authority is insignificantly. This has lead to substandard preservation of the monument and its surrounding area. By comparing the Kivik monument with the monument Ales stones, who undergone equal restorations, I discovered that Ales stones is still considered an intact ancient monument with a high antiquarian value with the responsible authority and therefore in a good state of preservation. This is probably a result of that the restorations of the Kivik monument contain none authentic material as concrete and its museological construction, which Ales stones is not and therefore perceived as a genuine ancient monument.

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Verwitterung von Naturwerkstein als Funktion von mineralogischen und petrophysikalischen Eigenschaften unter unterschiedlichen umwelt- und bauphysikalischen Bedingungen. Am Beispiel des Kölner Doms wird zum einen die große Anzahl an unterschiedlichen Baumaterialien, die in diesem Bauwerk angetroffen werden, vorgestellt. Darüber hinaus werden auch die daraus resultierenden Probleme von Interferenzen der verschiedenen Materialien untereinander in Hinblick auf ihre Verwitterung beleuchtet. Physikalische und chemische Verwitterungsprozesse werden anhand von Laborversuchen und Tests empirisch erfasst. Diese werden mit den festgestellten spezifischen petrophysikalischen Eigenschaften der unterschiedlichen Gesteine korreliert und im Zusammenhang mit den in situ festgestellten Verwitterungsphänomenen und –prozessen diskutiert. Um die unterschiedlichen Einflüsse der Verwitterungs- und Umweltbelastungen zu evaluieren, wird die Natursteinverwitterung an drei Standorten – dem industriell geprägten Köln, Xanten mit einem städtischen Klima und im ländlichen Altenberg im Bergischen Land – vergleichend studiert. Hierbei zeigt sich der starke Einfluss der Luftverschmutzung auf die Natursteinverwitterung nicht nur für karbonatische sondern auch für silikatische Gesteine. Beispielhaft werden am Drachenfels Trachyt die Mineralkomposition, die Gefügeeigenschaften und die petrophysikalischen Eigenschaften des Gesteins im Gesamtzusammenhang miteinander korreliert und mit den festgestellten Schadensphänomenen und den ermittelten physikalischen und chemischen Verwitterungsprozessen abgeglichen. Aus diesen Erkenntnissen heraus wird ein Modell zur Verwitterung dieses Naturwerksteins entwickelt. In Hinblick auf Natursteinersatz als Erhaltungsmaßnahme für historische Kulturgüter aus Stein werden die Untersuchungsergebnisse, die Erkenntnisse aus den Laborversuchen und den Diskussionen zusammengeführt und bestehende grundsätzliche Anforderungen an ein Ersatzgestein weiter differenziert. Die verschiedenen Wechselwirkungsmechanismen der unterschiedlichen Naturwerksteine, die in einem Bauwerk verbaut sind, werden vor dem Hintergrund ihrer petrophysikalischen Charakteristika sowie ihres Verwitterungsverhaltens bewertet. Basierend auf dieser Beurteilung wird eine Auswahl-Systematik entwickelt, die die Evaluierung der Verträglichkeit von historischen und modernen Austauschgesteinen für historische Bauwerke unterstützt. Aufgrund seiner langen über 600 Jahre währenden Baugeschichte ist der Kölner Dom aus über 50 verschiedenen Bausteinen errichtet. Die vorliegende Arbeit bezieht sich dabei auf acht Haupt-Bausteine. Die untersuchten „Dom-Bausteine“ sind der Drachenfels Trachyt, der Stenzelberg Latit, der Obernkirchener und der Schlaitdorfer Sandstein, der Krensheimer Muschelkalk, die Londorfer Basaltlava sowie der Montemerlo Trachyt und der Bozanov Sandstein. Eine Verwendung ähnlicher Naturwerksteine ist auch beim Xantener und beim Altenberger Dom festzustellen, die ebenfalls aus dem 13. Jahrhundert stammen. Für diese drei mittelalterlichen Bauwerke wurden nicht nur zu ihrer Entstehungszeit sondern auch in späteren Restaurierungs- und Wiederinstandsetzungsmaßnahmen ähnliche Bausteine verwendet. Kapitel 2 der vorliegenden Arbeit stellt die drei Kathedralen in ihrem bauhistorischen Kontext vor und zeigt die Verwendung der unterschiedlichen Naturwerksteine auf. Es erwies sich schon zu ihrer Erbauungszeit und auch zu Zeiten des Weiterbaus, dass die Frage nach einem adäquaten Ersatzgestein entscheidend war, seit der ursprünglich verwendete Drachenfels Trachyt ab dem 19. Jahrhundert für Weiterbau- und Instandsetzungsmaßnahmen nicht mehr zur Verfügung stand. Die Umweltbedingungen an den drei Standorten unterscheiden sich sehr stark: Der Kölner Dom ist in einem industriell geprägten Raum zu finden, das städtische Klima von Xanten zeigt geringe industrielle Prägung, während Altenberg in einer ländlichen waldreichen Gegend liegt. Diese drei unterschiedlichen Umweltbedingungen der Kathedralen werden in Kapitel 3 beleuchtet. Darüber hinaus, werden mikroklimatische Feuchtigkeits- und Temperatur-Messungen und die entsprechenden Verteilungen in verschiedenen Bausteinen des Kölner Doms vorgestellt. Sensoren wurden in situ platziert in unterschiedlichen Tiefen innerhalb der jeweiligen Bauwerksteine und in unterschiedlich exponierten Bereichen des Bauwerks. Diese Messungen sollen dazu beitragen, die Wechselwirkungen von Feuchtigkeits- und Temperatur-Verteilung in den Bauwerksgesteinen mit den festgestellten Schäden und untersuchten Verwitterungsprozessen zu korrelieren. Die Naturwerksteine an den drei Bauwerken in den unterschiedlichen Umweltbedingungen zeigen ähnliche Verwitterungsmuster. Am Kölner Dom ist eine sehr starke Naturstein-Verwitterung festzustellen, die die statische Sicherheit von Gebäudeteilen mitunter gefährdet. Der Drachenfels Trachyt zeigt ausgeprägte Verwitterungsmerkmale, wie Schalen- und Schuppenbildung, strukturelle Entfestigung und Bröckelzerfall bis hin zum Totalverlust. Auch die anderen Bauwerksgesteine wie Sand- und Kalksteine sowie vulkanische Gesteine zeigen signifikante Verwitterung. Die unterschiedlichen Verwitterungsphänomene sind in Kapitel 4 dargestellt. Am Xantener und Altenberger Dom wurden ähnliche Verwitterungsmerkmale festgestellt, allerdings in viel geringerem Umfang und geringerer Intensität. Die Prozesse, die die Verwitterung begründen, sind vergleichbar. Diese werden von der mineralogischen Zusammensetzung und den Gefügeeigenschaften der jeweiligen Steine bestimmt, die wiederum die petrophysikalischen Eigenschaften beeinflussen. Dadurch wird deutlich, dass die unterschiedliche Intensitätsausprägung an den drei Bauwerken in den unterschiedlichen umweltklimatischen Bedingungen begründet liegt. Die Eigenschaften und gesteinsspezifischen Charakteristika der acht untersuchten „Dom-Bausteine“ sind festgestellt worden. In Kapitel 5 werden ihre petrographischen und petrophysikalischen Eigenschaften sowie ihr Feuchte- und Temperaturverhalten als auch ihre Festigkeitsparameter bestimmt. Diese Eigenschaften werden miteinander korreliert in Hinblick auf ihren wechselwirkenden Einfluss und ihre Abhängigkeiten untereinander und sie werden in Hinblick auf ihren Einfluss auf die typischen Verwitterungsphänomene der einzelnen Steine diskutiert. Kapitel 6 beschreibt Experimente und Tests zur physikalischen Verwitterung von Naturwerksteinen. Das Trocknungsverhalten der acht „Dom-Bausteine“ sowie ihr Verhalten bei zyklischer Frost-Tau-Belastung und Salzbelastung werden diskutiert. Die Test-Ergebnisse werden mit den gesteinsspezifischen Eigenschaften korreliert und mit dem in situ beobachteten Verfall verglichen. Die Ergebnisse von verschiedenen chemischen Experimenten werden in Kapitel 7 diskutiert und sollen zum Verständnis von chemischen Verwitterungsreaktionen der unterschiedlichen Steine beitragen. Neben einer generellen Beurteilung ihrer Säureresistenz soll ihr Lösungsverhalten in unterschiedlichen Lösungen untersucht werden. Mögliche chemische Verwitterungsreaktionen werden diskutiert, um das Verhalten der Naturwerksteine in unterschiedlichen Umweltbedingungen zu beleuchten Nachdem die einzelnen extrinsischen Faktoren (u.a. Klima- und Umweltbedingungen) sowie die intrinsischen Faktoren der einzelnen Steine (petrophysikalische Eigenschaften und Mineralkomposition sowie Gefügeeigenschaften, etc.) erfasst und ihr physikalisches und chemisches Verwitterungsverhalten in Tests empirisch festgestellt wurde, werden in einem nächsten Schritt diese verschiedenen, sehr komplexen wechselwirkenden Verwitterungsreaktionen und –prozesse physikalischer und chemischer Art in situ untersucht. Kapitel 8 stellt die Untersuchungen an den verschiedenen Bauwerksteinen der drei unterschiedlichen Standorte des Kölner, Xantener und Altenberger Doms vor. Die Bildung schwarzer Verwitterungskrusten als Hauptindikator für die Natursteinverwitterung im Zusammenhang mit Luftverschmutzung variiert sehr stark in diesen drei unterschiedlichen – industriell geprägten, städtischen und ländlichen – Klimata. Darüber hinaus wird gezeigt, dass sich nicht nur auf Karbonatgesteinen schwarze Verwitterungskrusten bilden, sondern auch auf silikatischen Naturwerksteinen. Die Krustenbildung auf dem Drachenfels Trachyt ist hauptsächlich durch extrinsische Faktoren bestimmt, dabei können benachbarte Gesteine zu dieser Krustenbildung mit beitragen. Für den Drachenfels Trachyt wird ein Verwitterungsmodell entwickelt, das die Wechselwirkung der verschiedenen Rückkopplungsmechanismen physikalischer und chemischer Verwitterungsprozesse als Funktion intrinsischer und extrinsischer Faktoren darstellt. Im abschließenden Kapitel wird die anfangs gestellte Frage nach einem adäquaten Ersatzgestein aufgegriffen. Vor dem Hintergrund der unterschiedlichen durchgeführten Untersuchungen und daraus gewonnenen Erkenntnisse werden mögliche Wechselwirkungen der unterschiedlichen miteinander verbauten Werksteine beleuchtet. Grundsätzliche Anforderungen an Ersatzgesteine umfassen mineralogische, optische und petrophysikalische Eigenschaften. Die starke Divergenz der festgestellten Steinparameter der verschiedenen untersuchten Gesteine (Mineralkomposition, Porosität, Wasseraufnahme und –sättigung, Trocknungsverhalten, Feuchte- und Temperaturdehnung, Festigkeitsparameter, etc.) zeigt, dass es anhand dieses Anforderungskataloges fast unmöglich ist, ein ideales Ersatzgestein zu finden, falls die Parameter nicht differenzierter betrachtet werden. Dazu wird die Summe der Eigenschaften und Charakteristika in Hinblick auf ihre Signifikanz für die Materialeigenschaften und das Materialverhalten auf der einen Seite sowie für die Ausprägung von Schadensphänomenen und ihr Verwitterungsverhalten auf der anderen Seite miteinander korreliert und bewertet. Anhand einer entsprechenden Punktevergabe werden ein „Material-interner Index“ und ein „Verwitterungs-Index“ erstellt. Aus diesen beiden Bewertungs-Skalen ergeben sich die „Schlüssel-Parameter“ des Originalgesteins, die bei einem Kompatibilitätsabgleich mit einem potenziellen Austauschgestein im Rahmen des genannten Anforderungskataloges übereinstimmen sollten. Diese systematische Herangehensweise der Evaluierung führt zu einer Entwicklung von allgemeinen Qualitätskriterien für die Kompatibilität zur Auswahl geeigneter Ersatzgesteine für historische Bauwerke, in denen mehr als ein Naturwerkstein verbaut ist. Sie trägt zur Beurteilung der Verträglichkeit von historischen und modernen Austauschmaterialien in einem Bauwerk bei. Die neu gewonnenen Erkenntnisse sollen also einen Beitrag leisten bei der Aufstellung von Sanierungs- und Konservierungskonzepten, im Besonderen bei der Evaluierung von Materialkompatibilitäten und der entsprechenden Auswahl von Ersatzgestein, und damit die Entwicklung und Umsetzung von qualitativ hochwertigen Erhaltungsstrategien für Baudenkmäler aus Naturwerkstein unterstützen.

The aim of this research was to develop a new harvest maturity index for highly coloured stone fruit that is not affected by seasonal or climatic factors. The judgement of commercial maturity is difficult with some cultivars of stone fruit because they develop intense skin pigmentation several days before they are ripe. Studies of the changes of the physiochemical and physiological parameters associated with ripening confirmed that no single measurement is suitable for the assessment of harvest maturity in the Japanese type plum cultivars(Prunus salicina Lindl). Two distinct patterns of ripening behaviour were identified. The cool storage (0 degrees Centigrade) responses of fruit harvested at three stages of maturity were examined. Total soluble proteins were extracted and separated from fruit during maturation and ripening using 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis. At least three proteins were first detected in fruit at optimum commercial harvest maturity. Since Gulfruby, Beauty and Rubyred (Japanese type plum cultivars) accumulated similar concentrations of aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid(ACC), it was suggested that the suppressed-climacteric phenotype is the result of an impaired ability of the fruit to convert this compound to ethylene

An investigation of problems which can occur during the process of detaching flakes from a parent piece of stone, and of the aspects of stone artefact morphology which increase or decrease the likelihood of problems occurring, is the focus of this thesis. Researchers with practical experience of knapping stone artefacts have cited various problems which can be experienced during the flake production process, but no program of experimentation has focused on evaluating the severity of different problems and the situations under which problems are likely to occur. This thesis explores problems which can occur during the unifacial reduction of flakes. A general discussion of the mechanics of the fracture processes which occur during flake production is undertaken. The outcome of this discussion is a comprehensive theoretical understanding of the flake production process, which incorporates previous work by archaeologists and materials scientists, and also generates new models of fracture processes which are relevant to the aim of understanding problems that can occur during artefact reduction. A program of controlled experimental flake production is carried out, to test hypotheses linking aspects of artefact morphology with problematic fracture outcomes. The program of controlled experiments "involves the striking of a total of 817 flakes from "blanks" whose morphologies are carefully controlled, to test the ways in which aspects of blank morphology increase or decrease the likelihood of problematic fracture outcomes. The experimental program reveals the extent to which different fracture outcomes create problems for continued reduction of an artefact. Further, it quantifies the way in which properties of artefact morphology affect the likelihood of problems occurring, and the difficulty involved for the knapper in overcoming problems as they occur. Variables of artefact morphology which increase or decrease an artefact's reductive difficulty are identified as a result of the controlled experimental research. The reductive difficulty of an artefact refers to the likelihood of problems occurring during reduction, and the severity of these problems. Archaeologically, having the ability to analyse the relative reductive difficulty of artefacts enables the identification of situations in which technological systems produce artefacts with low reductive difficulty. This could provide evidence of technological systems which are organised to produce artefacts with low reductive difficulty, to facilitate the reduction process. Such a system of technological organisation is conceptualised as an extension strategy. The methods of analysing the reductive difficulty of unifacially flaked artefacts is applied to artefact collections from two sites in the Levant, Tabun Cave and Mugharet el-Wad, excavated by Dorothy Garrod. Assemblages from the sites' excavation units are classified within the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic. Changes in artefact morphology are identified across the sites' assemblages, coinciding with the boundary between the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic, as well as within the Middle Palaeolithic. Change through time is cyclical, rather than uni-directional. Analysis of changes in the reductive difficulty of artefacts, in conjunction with an existing technique of measuring the extent of reduction carried out on artefacts, enables discussion of the emphasis which the knappers who created the assemblages placed on implementing extension strategies at different points within the archaeological sequence. The methods of analysing reductive difficulty developed by this thesis enhance our potential to generate explanations of stone artefact variability.

The focus of this thesis is on the most commonly used types of stone, the methods of quarrying stone, stone working, the tools developed and used for that purpose, and the ways in which stone was transported and hoisted into place. This is starting from the earliest times in which large temples or buildings were constructed, namely the Neolithic, up till the time of the Roman Empire. Besides being a kind of compendium of most aspects of stone working, which could be found, also attention is given to the ideal conditions under which the construction of a large temple or monument could take place. The framework, which is developed from the description of the construction of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem in I Kings 5 and I Chronicles 28, is used to analyse the construction of a number of other temples in different times, places and settings, and with the use of different materials, to test if the framework is applicable in all these situations. Moreover, also other aspects of stone working, such as mosaics and the manufacturing of stone vessels in Jerusalem are described and analysed as to their origins and uses. The intention is to give an overview of the many ways in which stone has been used, so that the reader can get an idea of how large temples and monuments were built and to gain an understanding of what kind of technical know-how and ingenuity existed in antiquity.
Religious Studies and Arabic
D. Phil. (Religious Studies (Biblical Archaeology))

La presente ricerca prende le mosse dalla vivace discussione intorno al tema della 'conservazione programmata' dei beni culturali e dalla constatazione di come la strada della programmazione sia ancora piuttosto difficile da percorrere, specie per quanto riguarda gli interventi sulle superfici di pregio dell'architettura. Le ragioni di questa 'resistenza' sono già da tempo sotto osservazione; questo studio si è focalizzato sugli aspetti più operativi: la Conservazione Programmata contempla e comprende la ciclicità di interventi, ma quali dati abbiamo realmente a disposizione per poter programmare la ciclicità di questi interventi? Lo stato dell'arte ne evidenzia la mancanza; paradossalmente, il problema non risiede tanto nella carenza di studi o sperimentazioni, quanto piuttosto nella loro estrema specificità, nell'assenza di un quadro di insieme e nel mancato trasferimento di informazioni tra i campi più specialistici della ricerca e quelli dell’operatività. In questo quadro generale, l’indagine sull'efficacia residua dei trattamenti conservativi delle superfici decorate dell'architettura è apparsa appropriata per affrontare alcune delle problematiche della programmazione ed è quindi diventata l’oggetto specifico di questo studio. Banco di prova il complesso Cattedrale di San Zeno e Battistero di San Giovanni in Corte in Pistoia, dove il metodo dell’Assorbimento capillare di acqua tramite spugna di contatto (UNI 11432:2011) è stato utilizzato non tanto come test trattato/non trattato, quanto piuttosto come confronto tra trattamenti con ‘anzianità’ diverse e note. Lo studio è stato quindi incentrato sulla possibilità di ‘misurare’ e ‘quantificare’ l’efficienza residua dei trattamenti protettivi dopo un determinato lasso di tempo dalla loro applicazione, e quindi la loro 'durabilità'. Sul piano generale questa tesi porta un contributo alla riflessione e alla sistematizzazione dei dati in vista di una reale utilità per la manutenzione dei beni monumentali affrontando inoltre con una diversa prospettiva la nozione di durabilità per la conservazione dei beni monumentali e richiamando al confronto sulle diverse scelte conservative. The present research is placed in the lively discussion around the theme of preventive conservation of cultural heritage and is motivated by the observation of how the road to temporal planning of interventions is still rather difficult to pursue, especially with regard to interventions on decorated architectural surfaces. The reasons for this 'resistance' is still under observation; this study focused on the most operational aspects: preventive conservation contemplates the cyclical nature of interventions, but what data do we really have at disposal to program the repetition of these interventions? The literature review highlights their lack; paradoxically, the problem does not lie so much in the lack of studies or experiments, but rather in their extreme specificity, in the absence of an overall picture and in the failure to transfer information between the most specialized fields of research and those of operations. In this general framework, the investigation into the residual effectiveness of conservative treatments of decorated architectural surfaces appeared appropriate to address some of the problems of programming and has therefore become the specific object of this study. The test stand has been the Cathedral complex of San Zeno and the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Corte in Pistoia, where the Contact sponge water absorption test (UNI 11432: 2011) was used not so much as a treated / untreated test, but rather as a comparison test between treatments with different, and known, aging. The study therefore focused on the possibility of "measuring" and "quantifying" the residual efficiency of protective treatments after a certain period of time from their application, and therefore their "durability". At a general level this thesis brings a contribution to the issue and to the systematization of data with the objective of a real utility for the maintenance of monumental assets; it also addresses, providing a different perspective, the notion of durability for the preservation of monumental assets and finally calls back to the comparison between different conservative choices.