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Cultural Uses of Stone and Rock
Another, hopefully interesting, diversion, this time into
‘cultural’ uses of stone and some questions…
John A Hudson
Lecture 12
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Entrance to a Buddhist Temple in India, 9th century
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In the Deccan traps: thick
successions of basaltic lava flows
On the way from one site to the next in India…
Weathering degradation, enhanced by rock fractures
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In the Deccan traps:
thick successions of basaltic lava flows
Runestone
Crystalline
Basement
rock
Sigtuna,
Sweden
11th century
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Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, UK
Portland Stone (limestone)
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Imperial
College
Victoria and
Albert Museum
London
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The Victoria and Albert Museum
in London was damaged by
bombardments during the
Second World War.
After the war, the damage was
kept as a remembrance
memorial. 8
Stonehenge – 5000 years old – unknown purpose
Very resistant to weathering (sandstone
with silica matrix) but susceptible to
damage from tourists
Question: To what extent should the
site be isolated from people? 9
http://www.bugbog.com/gallery/england_pictures/stonehenge-area-map.html
Hadrian’s Wall in the UK –
purpose was to protect the Roman Empire , 2000 years old
Question: Given that this wall is 100 km long,
how can it be protected from damage?
10
In the UK, we
have 55
cathedrals, many
of which were
built about 900
years ago.
These were built
with different
types of stone,
which has
deteriorated –
mainly because of
the weather: sun,
rain, and frost.
Salisbury Cathedral – sandy limestone
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Salisbury_Cathedral.jpg
Wells Cathedral – year 1230, coarse-grained limestone
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Wells.cathedral.front.arp.jpg
Wells Cathedral – finished in year 1230
After about 200 years,
the central tower began
to collapse and the
scissor arches were
added to stabilise the
structure
This demonstrates the
skill of the stonemasons
in the 15th century in
conservation and
ensuring the life
of the structure to
the present day
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Questions relating to conservation:
• To what extent is it necessary to conserve?
• Should the same stone be used?
• Who is going to pay for the conservation?
• Does the conservation have a long life?
• Should the same architectural style be used in
the conservation?
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Nunnery Castle, UK
Question: Is restoration necessary – or should the castle be left like this? 15
Norwich Cathedral – Caen limestone from France
900 years old
It takes a long
time to build a
structure like
this, and the
architectural
styles changed
as the
cathedral was
being built
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Early building work
was held up by the
Black Death
(plague, year 1340)
for 40 years –
during which the
architectural style
changed
‘Decorated’
style
‘Perpendicular’
style
Question: To what extent should
the restoration be the same
architectural style as the original? 17
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/2004_norwich_cathedral_03.JPG
Much of the Norwich cathedral Caen stone (limestone)is in a bad condition
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Here the cloister
arches have
been replaced
with wood
(having a
surface layer of
mortar)
- but the stone
pillar capital has
not been
restored
Question: How is the extent of partial restoration to be decided?
19
Now the wood
used in the
restoration is
itself
deteriorating!
Question: Should the conservation use
the same materials as the original?
20
Partial restoration of Norman arch (originally built in year 1100)
This kind of work is time consuming and expensive, who will pay? 21
The Parthenon is situated in Athens in Greece, at a latitude of 38º N.
At such a latitude, the southern side of a building is subjected to more
intense light, temperature gradients, wind and rain than the northern
side.
After about 2450 years of such exposure, we would expect rock facing
south to be more severely weathered than rock facing north. Thus, the
left panel is from the South Frieze and the right panel is from the North
Frieze.
22
Cararra marble quarry, Italy
23
Not so easy to find unflawed marble
24
Cutting the marble in the quarry
25
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Underground Cararra marble quarry
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Underground Cararra marble quarry
where rockbursts have occurred
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Pietre dure (hard rocks): semi-precious stone inlays
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Artist Michelangelo
Year 1504
Type Carrara marble
Location Galleria
dell'Accademia,
Florence
The Italians wanted to
have unblemished
marble…
…but can sculptors
use rocks with flaws?
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrarahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrarahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrarahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accademia_di_Belle_Arti_Firenzehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accademia_di_Belle_Arti_Firenzehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accademia_di_Belle_Arti_Firenzehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence
Emily Young, Sculptress
Has/had an outdoor exhibition in Berkeley Square, London
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The Clastic rock, onyx, travertine and
alabaster, volcanic silicates
32
The
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The
34
The
35
The
36
The
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The
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The
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The
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The
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Clastic rock, onyx, travertine and alabaster,
volcanic silicates
CHILE assumes a perfect material, but rock
masses are not like that. Here the rock has
been taken as it is for artistic use.
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End of Lecture 12
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