EOS1.5 | Stone Heritage and Geological Heritage Sites
EDI
Stone Heritage and Geological Heritage Sites
Co-organized by GM13
Convener: Gurmeet Kaur | Co-conveners: Benjamin van Wyk de Vries, Angela Ehling, Parminder Kaur
Orals
| Wed, 26 Apr, 14:00–15:35 (CEST)
 
Room -2.33
Posters on site
| Attendance Wed, 26 Apr, 16:15–18:00 (CEST)
 
Hall X2
Posters virtual
| Attendance Wed, 26 Apr, 16:15–18:00 (CEST)
 
vHall EOS
Orals |
Wed, 14:00
Wed, 16:15
Wed, 16:15
This session aims to raise awareness amongst the EGU geosciences community of the wider societal and cultural importance of stone legacies and geoheritage through their cultural, architectural, and exceptional geological significance.
The Earth is a highly complex, variable and changing planet, and the study of this diversity and it's appreciation, protection and use is the major question for humanity. Within this framework the Lithosphere and it's interactions through the surface with the atmosphere, biosphere, and anthroposphere is studied through the disciplines of diversity, geoheritage and though stones we use for architecture, sculpture, decoration and other uses. These seamlessly interface with anthroposphere aspects, such as buildings, construction, resources, protected areas and reserves, and merges with biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere into natural diversity and natural heritage.
All the above iterations can be seen in both our stone buildings and in their source quarries and in comparable natural geosites. Contributions on diverse themes such as relevance of stone heritage and geoheritage vis-à-vis cultures, architecture, sustainability, geological history of earth, sustainable restoration and conservation of stone built cultural heritage and natural geological sites are invited for this session. Elements relating to the structuring of geological knowledge through geoheritage to link with society, including participatory approaches will be also welcomed.
The proceedings of the session will be subsequently organised into a International Journal of Geoheritage and Parks special volume.

Orals: Wed, 26 Apr | Room -2.33

Chairperson: Gurmeet Kaur
14:00–14:05
14:05–14:15
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EGU23-12818
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ECS
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solicited
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On-site presentation
Elena Storta, Luca Barale, Alessandro Borghi, Anna d'Atri, Giovanna Antonella Dino, and Fabrizio Piana

Piemonte region (Northwestern Italy) shows an extraordinary richness of ornamental stones, whose exploitation strongly influenced during the centuries, and still influences the local culture. Indeed, more than 150 lithotypes, mainly exploited in valleys and mountain areas, are used in the rural, urban and architecture heritage of the region.

The great variety of Piemonte stone materials used since ancient times as ornamental stones  is due to the presence of rocks belonging to very different geological units, ranging from the deep lithospheric mantle to both the continental and oceanic crust, together with successions deposited in different sedimentary basins, as well as many types of metamorphic rocks originating in different geodynamic regimes.

 

This great variety of rocks represents a historical and cultural heritage worthy of study and scientific dissemination not only among experts of Earth Sciences, but also among a wider public.

 

Starting from the Interactive Geolithological Map of the ornamental stones of Piemonte, performed by CNR-IGG (Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources-Turin), in collaboration with ARPA Piemonte and the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Turin, recently published on the Geoportal of Arpa Piemonte, within the webGIS application GeoPiemonte Map 2021

(https://webgis.arpa.piemonte.it/agportal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=6ea1e38603d6469298333c2efbc76c72), some important materials from a geological, economic-commercial and cultural point of view were selected for the enhancement of Piemonte ornamental stones.

 

Hence the idea of trying to bring to light the relevance and value of some of these stones as proposal for the nomination as ‘’IUGS Global Heritage Stone Resource (GHSR)’’ and some quarry districts as ‘’Global Heritage Stone Province (GHSP)’’.

How to cite: Storta, E., Barale, L., Borghi, A., d'Atri, A., Dino, G. A., and Piana, F.: Enhancement of the Piemonte (NW Italy) stone heritage, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-12818, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-12818, 2023.

14:15–14:25
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EGU23-3284
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On-site presentation
David Martin Freire-Lista, Lidia Catarino, Fernando Figueiredo, and Maria Helena Henriques

Ançã limestone is one of the most widely used geological formations as building stone throughout history in Portugal, and it can be recognized in many places throughout the country and abroad. The middle Jurassic Ançã Formation was deposited between the Bajocian and the Bathonian at the Lusitanian Basin (central west of Portugal), and it outcrops in Cantanhede municipality, about 25 km northwest of Coimbra. This formation is approximately 250 m thick and it is constituted at the base by layers that reach ≈2 to ≈3 m of greywish micritic limestone, slightly marly, changing to light gray and yellowish to white laterally. It is followed by creamy white to micritic limestones, in layers from ≈0.5 to ≈1 m thick.

Hard limestone types of low porosity and high strength are exploited on three quarry zones located in the Ançã-Portunhos-Outil region, which have many processing and carving workshops. The current annual production of Ançã limestone is ≈8000 m3, which is a distinguishing element of civil construction in the entire area. In addition, the Stone Museum of Cantanhede is a place of learning that promotes activities related to building stones.

The limestone of Ançã Formation is a strong candidate for “Global Heritage Stone”. This stone fits the proposed designation as it has been used since prehistoric times and its greatest use occurs since the 14th century. It has been widely used in important buildings, tombs and monuments of Coimbra. Some historically remarkable examples include the “Porta Especiosa” in the Old Cathedral, the entrance of Santa Cruz Church and the tomb of the first king of Portugal, D. Afonso Henriques.

The University of Coimbra – Alta and Sofia have been granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 2013, and all associated buildings, monuments and pedestrian streets are constructed from heritage stones. Coimbra University is located on a hill overlooking the city. It has colleges that grew and evolved over more than seven centuries within the old town, with the Ançã limestone as the main building stone. Notable buildings include a number of 16th-century colleges, the Royal Palace of Alcáçova, which has housed the University since 1537, the Joanine Library (early 17th century), and the 18th-century Botanical Garden, as well as the large “University City” created during the 1940s.

The importance of Coimbra’s emblematic heritage makes it necessary to protect Ançã limestone and its historical quarries. Given the ongoing transformation of the dimension stone industry, it is important that urban planners and policymakers responsible for cultural heritage work in tandem with needs of the traditional quarry extraction areas.

As may be deduced from the foregoing, Ançã limestone meets all the requisites for a GHS nomination. Its designation would contribute to raising awareness of its essential importance for regional economic growth, while furthering more efficient use of this dimension stone as a restoration material.

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia I.P. of Portugal supported this study with the CEECIND/03568/2017, UIDB/00073/2020 and UIDP/00073/2020 projects of I & D unit Geosciences Center (CGEO).

How to cite: Freire-Lista, D. M., Catarino, L., Figueiredo, F., and Henriques, M. H.: The limestone of Ançã Formation: a heritage stone from Portugal, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-3284, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-3284, 2023.

14:25–14:35
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EGU23-3698
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Highlight
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On-site presentation
Antônio Costa

The earth is a complex planet in permanent modification and the set of its changes includes the degradation of its stony constituents. These degradations result from the interactions of these constituents with an environment that presents conditions different from those where they were formed and in two-time scales: the geological and the time of man and his projects. About the degradations that occurred over geological time and inside the Earth's crust, we can learn about them from the exposure of stony materials close to the surface, due to uplifts and exhumations resulting from tectonic movements. From the interaction of these materials with these new conditions and, through human interference, the speed of transformation is further increased, whether using extraction, processing, and application techniques. As a result, there is inevitable degradation, which in turn will mean deterioration involving, from contemporary buildings to cultural heritage elements. Situations involving these interactions and their different forms of degradation, whether in extraction or application, can be observed around the world, both in constructions and sculptural sets, produced in stone, and in their respective quarries of origin. In this direction, and as an example, we are bringing information about geological interactions of ultramafic rocks, which underwent transformations inside the Earth's crust, generating steatite. Then, and already in the time of man and his projects, we bring information about the results of interactions of this steatite with the environment from which they were extracted and where they were applied, as in the case of the architectural complex of Congonhas, Brazil, which is a cultural heritage of humanity. As a mineralogical association, these steatites are essentially constituted by minerals such as: talc, serpentine, chlorite, and amphiboles. Subordinately, the presence of carbonates and opaque minerals is observed, all with variable contents. In the case of Congonhas, the carbonate is dolomite, pyrite was the sulphide and magnetite the oxide, often altered to hematite and goethite/limonite. These alterations present in the extraction fronts are very similar to those observed in the elements of the cultural heritage of Congonhas. Both in the quarries and in the applications, the forms of degradation result from rock interactions in geological time and application. Of this set of degradations, those involving chromatic variations, loss of parts by differential erosion with elimination of soft components, by mechanical actions and by dissolution, which in this case involve minerals such as carbonates and opaques, are most visible. Presents are other forms, such as patinas, fissures and biological colonizations. Due to lack of adequate information, mainly involving the dissemination of geological knowledge, as well as participatory approaches with local communities, Congonhas’ heritage is at risk of permanent damage. With the publicity about these degradations, which are progressive, it is expected a greater awareness and measures on the part of the agencies responsible for the conservation of this cultural heritage.

How to cite: Costa, A.: The soapstone present in elements of the cultural heritage of humanity in Congonhas - Brazil: interactions from the quarry to the monuments, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-3698, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-3698, 2023.

14:35–14:45
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EGU23-8696
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Virtual presentation
Maria Heloisa Frasca and Nuria Castro

The “Beige Bahia” is a unique light beige limestone visually resembling a travertine. It is an uncommon type of natural stone and a vital mineral resource of Ourolândia (State of Bahia), a municipality in the Northeast region of Brazil, where around 25 quarries and 45 looms in several processing plants are reported (Iza et al. 2022).

Member of the Caatinga Formation, Miocene-Pleistocene age, it is, in fact, a secondary, calcrete type, limestone formed by chemical, physical and biogenic alteration of a marine Neoproterozoic limestone of the Salitre Formation. It resembles a brecciated limestone and is characterized by a heterogeneous arrangement of calcareous fragments in a micritic matrix.

The presence of irregular and centimetric cavities is typical, resulting from the dissolution and recrystallization processes. Most of them seem like geodes due to calcite crystals covering their walls. Another relevant characteristic is the sparse occurrence of whitish areas, composed of microcrystalline calcite and minor clay minerals (illite group).

Beige Bahia had its exploration and processing started in the 1960s, although it had already been “discovered in the backlands of Bahia in the 1950s” when the pioneering producers called it “Marta Rocha marble”, in allusion to the famous Miss Brazil 1956 from Bahia, and the stone had immediate acceptance in the yet incipient Brazilian market of marbles and granites (Ribeiro et al. 2002)

Primarily named “Beige Bahia”, it has been commercialized as a travertine to which it does indeed have some similar characteristics and is even called “National Travertine” or “Brazilian Travertine”. Resembling imported travertines, but at a much lower price, this stone is one of the most commercialized all over the country, and exported mainly to USA, for covering floors and walls, indoors (mainly) and outdoors. It is also commonly used on kitchen, bathroom sink tops and other furniture.

Beige Bahia can be found in countless residential and in façades and columns of modern buildings. It is also covering important Brazilian heritage buildings, such as the Planalto Palace and the Federal Supreme Court, in Brasília (the capital of Brazil) (Frascá et al. 2020). In Rio de Janeiro, the heritage building of the Bank of Brazil Cultural Centre has Beige Bahia flooring in the exposition room. Another example is the Beige Bahia veneers at the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais building.

All aspects mentioned here demonstrate the geological, historical, and social importance of this rock, whose occurrence must be known and publicized.

References

Frascá, M.H.B.O., Neves, R., Castro, N.F. 2020. The White Marbles of Brasília, a World Heritage site and capital of Brazil. London, Geological Society Special Publications, 486: 217-227. https://doi.org/10.1144/SP486-2018-31.

Ribeiro, A.F., Pereira, C.P., Braz, E., Magalhães, A.C.F., Chiodi Filho, C. 2002. Mármore Bege Bahia em Ourolândia-Mirangaba-Jacobina, Bahia: geologia, potencialidade e desenvolvimento integrado. Salvador, CBPM. (Série Arquivos Abertos; 17). 56p.

Iza, E.R.H.F (org.). 2022. Rochas ornamentais do estado da Bahia. 2nd ed. Salvador, CPRM. https://rigeo.cprm.gov.br/bitstream/doc/21244/1/irm_rochas_ornamentais_ba.pdf, accessed on 5 Jan. 2023.

How to cite: Frasca, M. H. and Castro, N.: Beige Bahia, the Brazilian travertine-like limestone, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-8696, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-8696, 2023.

14:45–15:05
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EGU23-15987
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solicited
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On-site presentation
John Bruun

As a climate physicist  - I’m conscious we can use the evidence in the environment around us to help attribute and understand how we adapt to environmental changes. The stones in our vicinities, their use and the geo weathering over long time periods gives us clues to older indigenous societies and the choices made in their cultural epochs.  In this discussion I’ll discuss how society changes over the past 2000 years can be a) assessed using formal methods of signal analysis using paleo and instrumental data record, b) interpreted through the clues provided by stone use/ re-use and weathering evidence and c) known alterations to the climate dynamics in given localities. Examples will be drawn from the localities influenced by long term Pacific and Atlantic climate processes, and the interpretation of how society choices have functioned through their use of stone will be debated.

How to cite: Bruun, J.: A narrative of climate states as represented through cultural use and re-use of stone in local societies, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-15987, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-15987, 2023.

15:05–15:15
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EGU23-14744
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ECS
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On-site presentation
Teresa Salvatici, Irene Centauro, Eugenio Segabinazzi, Sara Calandra, Emanuele Intrieri, and Carlo Alberto Garzonio

Pietraforte sandstone is one of the most important stone material used during Renaissance in Historic Center of Florence, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of its main uses as building material is rusticated block facades, a peculiar masonry technique typical of many historical Florentine palace (ie. Palazzo Pitti, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Palazzo Strozzi, etc.). The characteristic color of Pietraforte, ranging from grey to yellow-ochreous, is a distinctive feature of the urban landscape of Florence.

Stone rusticated blocks constitute elements with different overhangs which make them subject to decay phenomena due to weathering that, together with their intrinsic characteristics, can lead to detachment and loss of blocks (even of considerable size).

The study of Pietraforte as a geoheritage with its morphological, mechanical, physical, mineralogical, and petrographic characterization is an important starting point to understand the possible evolution of decay processes.

A multi-analytical characterization of this stone in several study cases allow the comparison of Florentine rusticated blocks used in different architectural registers (rough-hewn, smooth-faced and pillow rusticated), highlighting different behaviors of Pietraforte in distint architectural contexts.

For example, convolute laminations and calcite veins (Pecchioni et al. 2007, Pecchioni et al. 2020), typical macroscopic characteristics of Pietraforte, show different behavior depending on the type of rusticated blocks.

A multi-analytical methodology has been developed including sampling for physical, petrographic and mineralogical characterization and Non Destructive Techniques (NTD), using ultrasonic pulse velocity and sclerometric tests for mechanical behaviors (Salvatici et al. 2020, Centauro et al. 2022, Calandra et al. 2023). The main morphological features of Pietraforte from a geological point of view are investigated pondering each rusticated blocks as a rock mass and applied some methods of rock slope stability analysis.

The study performed in this work aims to protect and preserve geoheritage stones finding a new and sustainable restoration and conservation approach for Pietraforte built Cultural Heritage weaknesses. Furthermore this multi analytical approach allow the diagnosis of the vulnerability of the stone material to detachments of scales, fragments and whole blocks that represent a damage to the monuments and a danger for people.

How to cite: Salvatici, T., Centauro, I., Segabinazzi, E., Calandra, S., Intrieri, E., and Garzonio, C. A.: Multi-analytical methodology to indagate the Pietraforte sandstone risk assessment, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-14744, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-14744, 2023.

15:15–15:25
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EGU23-16847
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ECS
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Virtual presentation
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Siham Belhaj and Omaima Essad Belhaj

The city of Rabat, capital of the Moroccan Kingdom, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012 and home to several historical monuments testifying to a cultural wealth and architectural diversity of which the Chellah site is part.

 The monument of Chellah located according to the coordinates: X = -6.8330340 / 6°49'58.9224 "W, Y = 34.0070770 / 34°0'25.4772 "N is special by its history, its architecture, its location within the city of Rabat shared heritage.

This site is 7 ha in area with ramparts of 1030m in length and 4 m to 9.5 m in height, it houses 23 towers and 3 doors.

The historical origin of Sala's (Chellah today) dates back to the VII-VI B.C. During the Phoenician period, this site could play the role of a seaport on the Atlantic route between Lixus and Mogador.

The site of Chellah includes traces of many civilizations, such as the Phoenicians, the Mauritanians, the Almoahades and the Merinids.

The historical site Chellah is at the same time a historical site, a real estate heritage, a universal heritage, an archaeological heritage, a tangible and intangible urban heritage.

The historical site Chellah knows physical and chemical degradations seen its location and the particularity of the building materials as well as the techniques employed mainly for the rehabilitation.

And given the importance of investigation and scientific studies before any restoration operation, we propose in this work a characterization of the stone used in previous restoration made during the protectorate period.

The stone used is the calcarenites of which we propose a characterization under optical microscope and by using the technique of diffraction of the rays X DRX and the fluorescence of the rays X (FX). These analyses made it possible to affirm that this stone is a sandy limestone of a micro-sparitic cement which testifies to a bad conservation of the stone in front of the bad weather, this stone includes comparable fractions of calcium oxide and silica with a loss of fire of 25%, the analyses also made it possible to put in evidence the pathologies which touch them and the minerals of alterations.

Keywords : Alteration, Calarenites, Limestone, Chellah

How to cite: Belhaj, S. and Belhaj, O. E.: Chemical and physical characterization of calcarenites from the protectorate period used in the Chellah site., EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-16847, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-16847, 2023.

15:25–15:35
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EGU23-16959
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Highlight
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Virtual presentation
Sveva Corrado, Beatrice Adanti, Francesco Grossi, Vitamaria Bosco, Paola Vasconi, Andrea Bollati, and Marina Fabbri

The geological collections, hosted in the Liceo Classico Statale “E. Q. Visconti” in Rome, from the "wonders" of Jesuit Father Athanasius Kircher to the nineteenth-century collections and  the present-day “Wunder Musaeum”, will be presented in this presentation. These collections represent a rich and "hidden" geological jewel preserved in the heart of Rome, made up of thousands of minerals, rocks, fossils and teaching tools, aquired through a long and fascinating story. A historical-scientific heritage that the "Geomuseum" project, developed between the geologists of the University of Roma Tre and teachers of the higher School, has made possible in order to enhance it and make it accessible to the general public and the students, for outreach and teaching purposes.

How to cite: Corrado, S., Adanti, B., Grossi, F., Bosco, V., Vasconi, P., Bollati, A., and Fabbri, M.: The historical geological collections of the "Ennio Quirino Visconti" Higher School at the Roman Collegium: a hidden geological jewel in Rome, from the XVII century to nowadays, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-16959, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-16959, 2023.

Posters on site: Wed, 26 Apr, 16:15–18:00 | Hall X2

Chairperson: Angela Ehling
X2.1
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EGU23-8401
Jose Kullberg, António Prego, Luís Lopes, and Tiago Alves

The “Brecha da Arrábida” consists of an Upper Jurassic intraformational conglomerate breccia, of granular support, with carbonate clasts of different colours, in a carbonate-red clay cement, whose genesis is associated with an immersed karst during the early phases of the North Atlantic opening. It has been exploited both as structural stone since the roman period until the 15th century, the time where it started to be use as an ornamental stone linked to the “Manueline Artistic Style” (a kind of Portuguese specific late gothic style) in the outdoors of the monuments and for the 17th century on, only for interiors purposes.  

The first reference know to the “Brecha da Arrábida”, not with in scientific sense, was made by Duarte Nunes Leão (1530-1608): ”From this stone is built all that great village (the city of Setúbal), with houses, temples, walls and towers, because there is no other stone like this, so in the village and its terminus, as in the mountains, neighboring the Arrábida mountain range, [...]”. And the first reference to Brecha da Arrábida comes from the Baron of Eschwege (1831), when studying the region of Setúbal, designates a type of rock as “Ancient sandstone", also indicating the corresponding formations in Germany, France and England, respectively: “Rothe-todliegende”, “gréshouiller” and “Grésrouge”. He describes the location of the outcrops, stating that: “appears at the foot of Setubal, at the foot of the Serra de S. Luiz and Palmella, on the south coast of Serra da Arrábida” and even though “this ancient sandstone seems to form the base of all the most modern formations near the Serra da Arrabida, which is still need to check”. In 1841, Daniel Sharpe, an English geologist who came to Portugal in 1831, publishes in the Transactions of the Geological Society of London a memoir entitled: “On the geology in the neighbourhood of Lisbon", naming the rock as “Old Red Conglomerate”.

One of the most emblematic monuments is the Jesus Church and Convent (Setúbal), distinguished by the European Commission with the “European Heritage Label” (2011), in 2013 was recognized by the Pan-European Federation of Cultural Heritage Europa Nostra” as one of the seven most endangered monuments in Europe.

In Portugal, from the 88 occurrences listed (on work list), 65 are applications in classified Monuments, 24 of which are National Monuments, and some integrated in UNESCO classifications. Several historical applications can be listed in Monuments in six foreign countries: Austria, Brazil, France, Mozambique, Spain and United Kingdom.

Since this ornamental stone ended the exploitation on the half of the 70´s of the last century, before the first generalized publication of the geotechnical properties of ornamental stones, for constructive reasons, do not exist any publication about this thematic. For the full characterization of the “Brecha da Arrábida” (historical importance, geographic dispersion and physic-mechanic properties) to present as a candidate of “Heritage Stone” classification, all that data was deepened and presented to the Heritage Stone Subcommission, ending successfully its certification on October 2022.

How to cite: Kullberg, J., Prego, A., Lopes, L., and Alves, T.: The “Brecha da Arrábida”: new historical findings, geographic dissemination, and geotechnical contributions for the classification as Heritage Stone, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-8401, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-8401, 2023.

X2.2
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EGU23-16123
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Highlight
IUGS Heritage Stone Designation – First Experiences
(withdrawn)
Angela Ehling

Posters virtual: Wed, 26 Apr, 16:15–18:00 | vHall EOS

Chairperson: Gurmeet Kaur
vEOS.1
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EGU23-272
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ECS
Akshay Raj Manocha

‘Geoheritage’ refers to important geological heritage having significant scientific, educational, aesthetical, cultural and economic values for human. It helps in understanding the past civilizations and progressive development from ancient times to present. Hence, such heritage sites are need to be preserved, conserved and renovated for present as well as future generations.

The International Commission on Geoheritage (ICG) is a part of International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) which aims at recognition of geological heritage sites, geo-collections and heritage stones for their database generation and maintenance, followed by promotional and educational purposes. ICG comprises of three subcommisions among which sub commission on heritage stones deals with identification and characterization of natural stones used in historically significant buildings and monuments, its historical quarries and recognition of stone-built monuments.

From India, several heritage stones such as Makrana Marble, Jaisalmer limestone, Jodhpur sandstone and many more have been reported. These stones have been used in establishment of historically significant monuments such as Mehrangarh fort, Taj Mahal, Umaid bhawan etc. However, no attention has been given to the historically important monuments in northern India. This study is aimed at highlighting monuments in Bangana area of district Una in Himachal Pradesh.

Several historical forts and temples, such as Solasinghi Fort, Solasinghi Temple, Chaumukha Temple, Shiv Temple Jarola, and Baba Balak Nath Temple are present in Bangana area. Among them, Solasinghi fort is an important monument built during the 19th century. It is made up of plastered sandstone bricks. Similar sandstone blocks are used for building other monuments in the area. The sandstone belongs to the middle Shiwalik. It is a grey coloured fine-grained sandstone and is hard and compact. Mica flakes are easily visible.

The sandstone mainly consists of mainly quartz, feldspar, muscovite and rock fragments. Quartz grains are angular to sub-rounded with either irregular or smooth grain boundaries. Silica and microscopic biotite flakes make up the matrix, which makes up around 5–10% of the volume of the rock. Silica cement is present. Even though the stone is not aesthetically appealing but due to its local availability and durability, it was used for the building these monuments.

Currently, these monuments are in a dilapidated state. They have been left abandoned and are adversely affected due to natural and anthropogenic activities. Conservation of these monuments and historical buildings is a matter of serious concern. No attention is given to these monuments and buildings by the authorities for the conservation of these heritage sites.

This work mainly focuses on the evaluation of the present condition and preservation of these heritage monuments. The study will provide some suggestive measures for the protection of these heritage structures using modern techniques and machinery, keeping in mind the building material to maintain the originality.

Keywords: Heritage Monuments, Conservation, Geoheritage

How to cite: Manocha, A. R.: Conservation of Heritage Monuments: A case study of Solasinghi Fort and surrounding monuments in Bangana area, Una, Himachal Pradesh, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-272, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-272, 2023.

vEOS.2
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EGU23-10479
Victória Sander, Marcos Antonio Batista dos Santos Filho, Jaqueline Lopes Diniz, Luiz Filipe Silva e Souza Leite, Mariane Candido, Mauro Daniel Rodrigues Bruno, Priscila dos Santos Ebling, Fernanda Luft-Souza, Bernardo Vázquez-García, Daiane Rodrigues, Gustavo Nunes Aumond, and Maria Elisabeth da Roch

Situated on the northern coast of the Rio Grande do Sul state, in the southern region of Brazil, the Torres municipality contains beautiful landscapes, with a variety of natural sights such as great dunes, lagoons, and its famous volcanic rock natural towers. The main geological processes that sculpted this region are associated with wind activity and the numerous rises and falls of the sea level that occurred between the Pleistocene to the present day. Torres is a highly popular tourist beach, and sees its population grow by nearly 500% during the summer months. Due to it being a tourism hotspot and its incredible geodiversity, Torres is one of the main areas of the “Caminhos dos Cânions do Sul” Geopark (CCSG), a 2,830 km2 area that encompasses seven municipalities situated at the boundary of the Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina states. The geopark has three pillars, education, geoconservation, and tourism, and it aims to boost the economic, sociocultural, and environmental growth of the region in a sustainable manner. The geopark also seeks to help in the preservation of geological sites that most represent its regional diversity, such as the great Juro-Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary rock towers that give the city of Torres its name (which translates from the Portuguese to “Towers”). These structures, which can be seen throughout Torres’ coastline, are composed mostly of the basalts of the Serra Geral Group, which overlay the sandstones of the Botucatu paleodesert. In this municipality, the CCSG has, through lectures, itinerant exhibitions, training courses, and participation in cultural and scientific events, helped increase public consciousness regarding the importance of preserving and valorizing the area's geoheritage. In this work, we present a project developed through a partnership involving the Torres prefecture, the CCSG, and the GeoRoteiros group, which has as its objective the installation of information plaques about the geological evolution of the “Morros Testemunhos” and the state's Coastal Plain. We plan to install 10 plaques throughout the beach, each displaying didactic images and texts in an accessible language for the general public. The information available on these plaques will be summarized; in case the reader wishes to learn more, a QR Code will be available to take them to the websites of the organizing institutions, where they can not only read additional information, but also watch videos discussing the geosites of the geopark. This is a pilot project which will ascertain the viability of developing similar projects for the other municipalities that compose the CCSG.

How to cite: Sander, V., Batista dos Santos Filho, M. A., Lopes Diniz, J., Silva e Souza Leite, L. F., Candido, M., Rodrigues Bruno, M. D., Ebling, P. D. S., Luft-Souza, F., Vázquez-García, B., Rodrigues, D., Nunes Aumond, G., and Elisabeth da Roch, M.: Geoheritage of Torres, Southern Brazil: Disseminating its geodiversity and promoting geotourism, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-10479, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-10479, 2023.

vEOS.3
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EGU23-14920
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ECS
Sara Calandra, Emma Cantisani, Elena Pecchioni, Teresa Salvatici, Irene Centauro, and Carlo Alberto Garzonio

The raw materials used in the realization of a mortar provide information on the supply areas, original recipes and ancient technologies used to realize a building or an artefact. The raw materials utilized may vary over time, so they may be useful to give an indication of its relative dating.

In this field, from the pioneering studies of Labeyrie and Delibrias, (1964) and Stuiver and Smith, (1965), was evaluated the possibilities to radiocarbon dating of historical mortars; this research field still open, since may present many issues in its application. In principle, the carbon fraction datable is represented by calcite (CaCO3) resulting from the hardening of the quicklime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) that reacts with CO2 from the atmosphere. The lime binder and lump (un-mixed portion of lime in an aerial mortar) represent the portions that must be isolated from other carbon sources to accurately date mortars. Previous research shows that suitable and proper sampling of mortar samples is of fundamental importance for a conclusive radiocarbon analysis.

In recent years, a complete characterization of the mortar before radiocarbon dating was strongly encouraged (Cantisani et al. 2021). The minero-petrographic characterization is the first step to identify the type of mortar and to develop an efficient analytical approach that allows to select the most suitable component of mortar for absolute dating.

This work is aimed at mortar characterizing of an important architectural Cultural Heritage in Florence (Italy), Palazzo Medici Riccardi, to understand the building technique, the choice of raw materials, the history of its construction and, possibly, the presence of mortar datable fraction. A correct sampling and characterization procedures allow to know the composition of the binder, the nature of the aggregate, the presence of lumps, the carbonate origins etc. Therefore, to reduce the cost and time of dating, it is necessary to utilize always a fully characterized sample, consisting of a calcite binder, to be subjected subsequently to analysis to accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) for dating.

The research proposes on operative protocol applied on 12 mortar masonry samples of Palazzo Medici Riccardi, composed by: i) a preliminary in-depth characterization of mortar specimens, by means of multi-analytical techniques such as OM, XRPD, TGA, SEM-EDS, OM-CL for a chemical, minero-petrographic and physical characterization fields; ii) non-destructive analyses of datable samples selected, using XRPD, OM-CL and ATR-FTIR (Calandra et al. 2022). The combined use of characterization techniques is the key to obtaining more evidence regarding the composition of the samples to be dated. The selection protocol has made it possible to choose several samples for dating, thanks to which the history of the construction of Palazzo Medici Riccardi will be further explored.

 

How to cite: Calandra, S., Cantisani, E., Pecchioni, E., Salvatici, T., Centauro, I., and Garzonio, C. A.: Characterization protocol of Florentine historical mortars for absolute dating, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-14920, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-14920, 2023.

vEOS.4
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EGU23-15874
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Highlight
Laura Damas Mollá, Arantxa Bodego, Jesus A. Uriarte, Maialen Sagarna, Iñaki Antiguedad, and Arantza Aranburu

Stones used as building materials provide identity to the landscape of towns and cities, especially those of local origin. They are also a direct reference to the regional geology. In line with the main philosophy that defines the UNESCO Global Geoparks network, protection, education and sustainable development, including both their natural and cultural values (https://en.unesco.org/global-geoparks), ornamental and building stones acquire a significant importance, as they are part of the Geoheritage. The results obtained in the characterisation of these lithologies are used for educational and didactic purposes and serve to valorise Geology. This documentation is significantly important for local development activities, especially in the case of rural areas affected by depopulation.

Las Loras Geopark (North Spain) is a territory with a landscape marked by a strong relief (http://geoparquelasloras.es/index.php/las-loras/). There are numerous small rural towns and villages that contain an important built cultural heritage, especially of the Romanesque period, such as the town of Aguilar de Campoo (Palencia, Spain). In the centre of the Geopark is located the Valdelucio Valley (https://www.valledevaldelucio.es/inicio) with an extension of 96.04 km², and a significant depopulation (330 people census in 2020), it is in this region where the need to implement development activities has been established. The geological discourse centred on building stones requires the development of cultural heritage rooted in society, accessible and, especially, appreciated, such as the existing churches. For this reason, the stones of three of them have been studied, the Church of San Pedro in Paúl (pre-Romanesque, the oldest), the church of Santa Leocadia in Quintanas (municipality that houses the town council of the Valley) and the Sanctuary of the Virgen de la Vega in Pedrosa (with important roots in the Valley).

Stones of Jurassic to the Cretaceous ages, mainly sandstones and limestones, have been identified. As they are rocks from the immediate surroundings, the account of their origin is a synthesis of the geological history of the Valley, of its evolution from wetlands, to rivers, alluvial fans, to the establishment of deltas and carbonate marine platforms. In addition, the Quaternary tuffs used allow to explain the recent geomorphological processes. During the research phase, work was organized in cooperation with the local population in workshops, field trips and conferences. The results have been presented with i) geological mappings of the façades representing the different lithologies present in them, ii) a stratigraphic synthetic column of the geological formations, with indication of equivalent hand samples taken in the field, and iii) microscopy images of the hand samples.

In addition to geological story-telling, the collaboration with the population has allowed prioritisation of content and activity concepts. This methodology has introduced the geology of the Valley to them. What is not known is not valued, and these activities help to value the territory from a wider perspective.

How to cite: Damas Mollá, L., Bodego, A., Uriarte, J. A., Sagarna, M., Antiguedad, I., and Aranburu, A.: The geological story-telling of geopark building stones, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 23–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-15874, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-15874, 2023.