Provenance study of the limestone used in construction and restoration of the Batalha Monastery (Portugal)

Abstract

<p class="Abstract">To assess the provenance of the limestones used in the construction and restoration of the Batalha Monastery in central Portugal, stone samples collected from the monument and from five limestone quarries in the region surrounding the building were investigated by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (ED-XRF), powder X-ray diffractometry (PXRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Ca-Sr binary diagrams from the ED-XRF result indicated the source of the samples collected from different parts of the monastery. Thin-section observation supplemented the petrographic evidence for this identification. PXRD and TGA were also used to acquire information on the mineral and chemical composition of the stones. Preliminary results suggest that the monastery baluster was made of stone from the Valinho do Rei or Reguengo do Fetal quarries, whereas part of the church railing, the north-aisle eaves arch and Royal Cloister were made with stone from the Pidiogo or Cabeço do Roxo quarries.</p>

Characterization, Analysis, and Investigation of the Provenance of the Stone Construction Materials of the Vera Cruz Church (Segovia, Spain)

“…Much of the work consulted is based on mineralogical and petrographic studies, using thin sections studied by PLM. The most common is the geochemical study, especially in marbles [13,14], but also in limestones [15,16] and in volcanic rocks [17], with the use of binary diagrams of representative ions and the projection in classical diagrams such as the Total Alkali-Silica (TAS).…”

The inhibition of biodegradation on building limestone by plasma etching

“…Limestones were collected from five quarries which supplied the oolitic limestone used in the building and restoration of the Batalha Monastery: Pidiogo (39°39'15.7"N 8°44'27.9"W), Valinho do Rei (39°39'32.5"N 8°44'58.1"W), Reguengo do Fetal (39°38'43.64"N 8°45'16.19"W), Cabeço do Roxo (39°35'39.84"N 8°51'27.19"W) and Outeiro de Sebastião (39°35'38.89"N 8°51'27.49"W) [19]. The stones were cut into 2 cm (width) × 2 cm (length) × 1 cm (height) tablets, washed and dried under 60 °C for 24 h, then sterilized.…”

“…This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of plasma etching in the removal of microbials from bio-deteriorated limestone surfaces in monuments and buildings and in the prevention of microorganism growth, in order to provide conservators with a feasible and effective solution for preserving stone monuments in both urban and rural environments. The Batalha Monastery (Figure 1), a UNESCO listed World Heritage site located in central Portugal and built with locally quarried Jurassic oolitic limestone [19], was chosen for this investigation. The Monastery oolitic limestone has suffered and still is suffering from severe biodeterioration caused by extensive lichenous crusts and microorganism biofilms growing on the building surface: this promotes both physical and chemical attack on the limestone substrate via hyphae mechanical penetration along calcite inter-crystalline spaces, dissolution/leaching of calcite minerals, and precipitation of secondary minerals such as Caoxalates within the stone porosity framework [3].…”

Innovative systems for the detection of air particles in the quarries of the Western Rif, Morocco

“…Wood for heating is responsible for the most noxious particulate emissions. Road transport also accounted for 18% of PM2.5 particulate pollution (a slight increase on PM10) [6], [7]. The toxicity of suspended dusts is dependent on their physical and chemical characteristics, their size and on their capacity to absorb other pollutants present in the ambient air [8]- [10].…”