Structural Evaluation of a Timber Construction Element Originating from the Great Metéoron Monastery in Greece

Abstract

This study identified the wood species and evaluated the degree of weathering and biological degradation of a historical timber construction element originating from the Great Metéoron monastery in Metéora, Greece. The wood material was provided from the interior side of a balcony that was fully covered with a roof and exposed to outdoor conditions for more than 400 years. The species was identified as Quercus spp. of the white oak group. In the timber element, the physical, morphological, and chemical changes were studied to assess the type and extent of degradation using light microscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. To examine the degree of biological degradation and weathering, the surface layer and inner parts of the specimen were studied separately and compared with a recent wood specimen of the same species. The FT-IR analysis revealed remarkable differences between the surface layer and the inner parts of the historical wooden element. Macroscopic and microscopic investigation indicated that multiple types of degradation caused by weathering, fungi, and insect attacks had occurred in the wood structure. It was finally concluded that the historical timber construction element was in better condition than was expected before the study.

Comparison of the Decay Behavior of Two White-Rot Fungi in Relation to Wood Type and Exposure Conditions

“…Table 1 explains control wood peaks. The peaks were compared with the results of other studies [11,[42][43][44][45]. Interestingly, there were some differences in the spectral bands observed in this study from those reported earlier.…”

Characterizing Fungal Decay of Beech Wood: Potential for Biotechnological Applications

“…The fungal-decayed beech wood IR spectra corresponded to the relative intensities of aromatic skeletal vibrations against the typical bands for carbohydrates ( Table 3 ). The peak at 1504 cm −1 was used as a reference peak for lignin, and the ratio between this peak and the carbohydrate-related peaks at 1732 cm −1 , 1367 cm −1 , 1155 cm −1 , and 895 cm −1 was used as a measure of decay [ 57 , 58 ].…”

Changes in wood properties of chestnut wood structural elements with natural aging

“…Madhoushi (2016) reported that the wood species of structural elements removed from a historical building in Gorgan, Iran were identified as elm, lime tree, oak, sugar maple and scots pine. Dogu et al (2017) determined that the wood of a very old timber building element that was used on the inside of a balcony and exposed to outdoor conditions for more than 400 years belongs to oak wood. They also stated that oak wood species is characterized by high durable heartwood since it contains high amount of tannins.…”