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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?

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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?

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Now the wood

used in the

restoration is

itself

deteriorating!

Question: Should the conservation use

the same materials as the original?

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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.

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Cararra marble quarry, Italy

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Not so easy to find unflawed marble

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Cutting the marble in the quarry

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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

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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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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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