A Short History of the Use of Lime as a Building Material Beyond Europe and North America

Carran, Dorn; Hughes, John Jay; Leslie, A. G.; Kennedy, Craig J

doi:10.1080/15583058.2010.511694

Cited by 77 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Although no detectable amount of organic residues or oxalates (mineralized by‐products of organic materials) could be traced in the earthen plaster layers C and D, the addition of organic additives, such as plant juice, egg, natural oil, wheat flour, animal blood and sticky rice during construction (Zeng et al ; Carran et al ; Fang et al ; Zhang et al ), to improve the mechanical properties of the plasters, cannot be excluded. Their absence may be due to instrumental limitation or total decomposition and loss of the organic matter.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi‐analytical Studies of Archaeological Chinese Earthen Plasters: The Inner Wall of the Longhu Hall (Yuzhen Palace, Ancient Building Complex, Wudang Mountains, China)

Wei

Grifa

et al. 2017

Archaeometry

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The Yuzhen Palace is one of the nine palaces in the Ancient Building Complex built by order of the Yongle Emperor during the Ming dynasty. The buildings were built with dressed black bricks. As a result of the planned national South–North Water Diversion project, the water level in the Danjiangkou Reservoir that surrounds the Yuzhen Palace was expected to rise by approximately 15 m. To avoid submersion of the site, three gates were elevated by 15 m in 2013 and other buildings dismantled, for later reconstruction. The characterization of the construction materials has therefore become of primary importance. Here, we present results on the plasters of the Longhu Hall. The analysis of materials involved a multi‐analytical approach combining optical and electron microscopy with X‐ray and vibrational spectromicroscopies and thermogravimetry. The results indicated the use of two earthen plaster layers and a whitewash finish coating applied over a thin preparatory intermediate layer to improve the adherence of the finish coating to the earthen plaster. Ramie and straw fibres identified in the earthen plasters were added to reduce shrinkage and cracking during drying. The raw materials used and the application technique pointed to a well‐established construction industry using traditional earthen building materials together with lime technology.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi‐analytical Studies of Archaeological Chinese Earthen Plasters: The Inner Wall of the Longhu Hall (Yuzhen Palace, Ancient Building Complex, Wudang Mountains, China)

Wei

Grifa

et al. 2017

Archaeometry

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“…Nonetheless, the addition of organic components to lime mortars was a common practice in ancient China. As reported in the literature, some common organic components, such as sticky rice, milk, blood, natural oil, plant juice, etc., were used (Yang et al 2009;Carran et al 2012;Fang et al 2014;Zhang et al 2014;Liu et al 2016b;Xu et al 2019), leading to an improvement in the properties of the mortars. For instance, the addition of sticky rice could lead to a smaller crystal size for calcite and a more compact structure, causing an increase in the strength and toughness of the mortars (Yang et al 2010(Yang et al , 2016; the microstructures modified by sticky rice additives also make the mortar more waterproof (Zhang et al 2014).…”

Section: Mineralogical Composition Of the Mortarsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of ancient building lime mortars of Anhui province, China: A multi‐analytical approach

et al. 2020

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The characterization of lime mortars has become of primary importance in order to obtain information about the raw ingredients and building technology of ancient masonry structures. Five different samples from Anhui province, China, representing two types of lime mortar‐based materials: joint mortars between the bricks of the city wall and lime mortar sealing a tomb coffin, were collected for analysis. Archaeological information about the samples was reported and studies into the microtextural features and mineralogical compositions of those mortars were performed via a multi‐analytical approach. The joint lime mortars between the bricks of city walls, including Mingzhongdu city wall, Mingzhongdu Xihua gate foundation, Zhengyangguan city wall and She county city wall, were found to be aerial lime mortars. The lime mortar from Nanling Tieguai Song dynasty tomb was analysed and found to be a pozzolanic mortar consisting of lime, clay, sand and cocciopesto‐like materials. The analytical results serve as a critical reference for the maintenance and restoration of ancient city walls in Anhui province, and as a starting point for searching for ancient Chinese pozzolanic mortars and technology for making those mortars.

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“…Lime-based materials are important historic building materials that have contributed significantly to the development of human culture and civilization [1,2]. They have been used to construct historic buildings and infrastructure for over 10,000 years [3].…”

Section: Importance Of Lime-based Materials In the Preservation Of Komentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical and Scientific Investigations into the Use of Hydraulic Lime in Korea and Preventive Conservation of Historic Masonry Structures

et al. 2019

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In addition to non-hydraulic lime, natural hydraulic lime (NHL) is a material widely used to repair and restore historic buildings. In Korea, although lime mortars have been used as important building materials for thousands of years, the sharing of information and technology with other countries has been relatively inactive. While not recognizing the suitability of NHL as a repair material, undesirable materials such as Portland cement have often been selected due to their high strength, ease of use, and hydraulicity, but unfortunately, this has resulted in the irreversible damage of existing elements, especially in historic masonry structures. This study aims to emphasize the need for hydraulic lime for the sustainable preservation of Korea’s architectural heritage. To justify its use, historical and scientific investigations were conducted. By reviewing literature written in the 15th century, it was found that dark limestone was used to manufacture building lime. Based on this, the chemical compositions of different-colored limestone were experimentally analyzed, and significant evidence was found that dicalcium silicate was formed in the quicklime manufactured by calcining blue-green and green-black limestone. Prior to the 19th century, it would have been impossible to record the chemical compositions of various types of limestone, except for visual observations such as color differences. Fortunately, this important information was recorded in royal documents and has been handed down to the present day. Thus, knowledge from 500 years ago could be scientifically interpreted using the latest technology. The link between the historical record and the experimental results shown in this study can contribute to the selection of a suitable material. This is a method for the preventive preservation of historic masonry structures, as it can significantly lower the possibility of future damages caused by efflorescence and freeze–thaw.

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A Short History of the Use of Lime as a Building Material Beyond Europe and North America

Cited by 77 publications

References 24 publications

Multi‐analytical Studies of Archaeological Chinese Earthen Plasters: The Inner Wall of the Longhu Hall (Yuzhen Palace, Ancient Building Complex, Wudang Mountains, China)

Multi‐analytical Studies of Archaeological Chinese Earthen Plasters: The Inner Wall of the Longhu Hall (Yuzhen Palace, Ancient Building Complex, Wudang Mountains, China)

Characterization of ancient building lime mortars of Anhui province, China: A multi‐analytical approach

Historical and Scientific Investigations into the Use of Hydraulic Lime in Korea and Preventive Conservation of Historic Masonry Structures

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